Unwanted
by Enaty
Summary: When Count D flees America, he moves to Europe to evade Leon Orcot. But the detective is persistent and continues to search for D. After moving the shop to Berlin, D discovers that Leon has left him with more than memories... ICP Part 1
1. Introduction and New Town Again

**Title**: Unwanted

**Author**: Enaty

**Rating**: T or M, depends on the chapter

**Warnings**: hermaphrodite D, m-preg, at least at the beginning, Leon's language, AU? I guess…, and also violence in the later chapters

**Disclaimer**: The original characters of PSoH do not belong to me, but to Matsuri Akino. I am just a crazy human being that can't stand not playing with them every now and then, of course without getting any money for it, unfortunately.

**Claimer**: Every person, child, human, not-human or animal that didn't turn up in the original series. And of course the storyline belongs to me as well. So if you wanna use someone – ask. I don't bite. Promise.

**Author's Note**:

Welcome to my third try at an PSoH-fanfiction, guys!

I do hope you'll like this one as well, but I have to warn you, it's a little different from the others. I do not really want to talk too much about it (will spill something otherwise), but for those of you who do not like the thought of Leon and D together, much less them getting a kid: do not continue to read. It's a friendly warning, and if you don't adhere, not my problem.

I am not sure if I can call this angsty, but it sure contains some rather adult themes (perhaps you might want to tell me whether it is angsty or not). As for everything else, you will have to read it yourself :-)

I am not one to press for reviews, but I really would appreciate some feedback, for this is a story I have worked on for quite some time and spent quite some hours on when I really couldn't afford to spend them (well, of course that's just my own silliness, but nevertheless). So please, leave a review, even if it's just one. I appreciate everything (except flames, those I will ignore. Or perhaps laugh, depends on how silly they are).

Well, enough words. Let's get on with the real thing now. Have fun everybody and so long,

Enaty :-)

* * *

**New Town Again**

The first day in a new town was always exciting, although D would never admit that. And Berlin was a city that had changed very much in the past years. After being Germany's capital for such a long time, to be parted into East and West Berlin by the occupying powers had been a harsh strike for the city. But then, finally, the citizens had succeeded, the Berlin Wall had fallen, and the government moved back from Bonn, where the West had had its capital.

D inhaled the air and decided that the changes were still noticeable. Berlin was still growing together again, but then, a few decades of separation had left scars…

He turned unwillingly. Separation was not something he wanted to think about right now.

The city would be a good place to hide. It was big enough, lots of foreigners lived here, he would not be noticed immediately. And the people were typical, almost like in Los Angeles. Lots of high expectations and pretty dreams, broken and shattered. Yes, he would certainly not run out of work.

He stepped inside the incense in the shop, flowing around in swirls and clouds. Sometimes it did that, D didn't know why. But like almost everything in the shop, the incense too had a will of its own. Though today it seemed more stifling than usual…

D brought a hand up and steadied himself on the doorframe, thoroughly confused. He was fainting. Why in all heavens was he _fainting_?

"Count, are you okay?" T-chan's voice broke through his thoughts and he looked up, vision blurring slightly before he could focus on his totetsu.

"Yes, thank you, Tetsu, I am quite alright," he answered softly. The dizziness went away. D shook his head in wonder. Well, perhaps he needed some food. Some cake, to be exact. Without his sugar, things like that could surely happen.

He decidedly made his way back into the shop, closing the door again. It was still too early to open it, it was yet settling in. He could have a cup of tea in his quarters while he waited for it to adjust to the new town.

The animals were excited, too, they were running around in the corridors, curiously examining the new lay-out. The kami smiled and knocked on a door to the left. "Hello Honlon," he said entering. The dragon turned her three heads towards him. Kanan glared, Shuko looked pensive and Junrei had red-rimmed eyes. D sighed slightly. Not again.

"Do you feel alright, Dragon?" he asked politely, even though he already knew the answer. Junrei burst into tears.

"Why did we have to leave again?" she wailed and D barely refrained from rolling his eyes.

"I explained to you already," he answered patiently while Kanan tried to kill him with looks. He tried to ignore her, but the piercing glare hurt, somewhere inside, where he didn't want to be hurt.

"But I miss him!" Junrei cried and let her head sink down on a cushion, looking miserable. "I miss Chris, and I miss Leon, and I miss Los Angeles! I want to go back. Please, let us go back. Or take them into the shop again at least."

"You know that it's not possible," Shuko admonished her sister gently, nudging her.

Kanan snarled. "Not possible?! Blah. Of course it's possible! It's just him who thinks it's not possible! Idiot!"

"Kanan!" both the Count and Shuko protested. She turned her head away and stared at the wall in hostile silence while Junrei sniffed on her cushion. Shuko looked at their father apologetic. "Count, I think it would be best if you would leave," she said in a low voice. "They are very upset, especially Kanan. But thank you for checking on us."

D bowed and ignored the lump in his throat. "I think you are right, Shuko. Very well, I shall leave you then. Please call me if you need anything."

"No thanks, we'd be better off without you _helping_ us," Kanan said acidly to the wall. D flinched and retreated, accompanied by an apologetic look from Shuko. He went into his bedroom and sipped tea at his dressing table, trying to keep his thoughts off the three-headed dragon and her words. He sighed softly. Shuko was easy to deal with, most of the time, if she didn't get into another fight with Kanan. But Junrei was just a child, she was so naive sometimes. In contrast to her, Kanan was everything but naïve, yet still…

Kanan was another subject better not to be thought off.

Pon-chan rescued him from his own dark thoughts. She skidded round the corner and looked at her master inquiringly. "Count, are you ready?" she asked. The kami turned and smiled at her.

"I am ready if the shop is, Pon-chan," he said calmly and set his teacup down.

"Do you think there'll be many customers?" the raccoon asked and hopped around him in circles as he made his way to the front room. T-chan, disturbed by her happy babbling, glared at her and yawned widely.

"Cool down, silly. Of course there'll be customers. There are customers everywhere, aren't they, Count?"

Both looked at their master, whose brow was wrinkled. His eyes stared into the distance and one of his hands hovered in front of his mouth, as if not sure whether to yawn or not. Raccoon and totetsu pecked their heads to the side and shared a glance. "Count? Are you alright?"

D snapped from his thoughts and quickly put the hand down again. He smiled brightly. "Yes. Yes, of course I am. What did you say, Tetsu?"

"I said that there are customers everywhere," the tiger-goat repeated confused. It was not like the Count to be so deep in thought. Though lately, he seemed more easily distracted. Perhaps he still missed America…?

* * *

"He left a week ago." The woman regarded Leon, wondering why an American was asking her about the strange Chinese man that had lived in the neighbourhood for barely four weeks. He was pretty young, too, but leaning on his crutch with some force. He had been injured recently, and she could see scars where his sleeves ended.

"Is something wrong with him?" she added, curiosity sparked. Perhaps the mysterious man had been the cause for the injuries, and the young man was seeking compensation now? He hadn't looked like he was the one driving a car, but who knew? And there'd been quite many animals in his shop. Perhaps one of them had gone crazy…

The blonde shook his head and tried to smile. "No, no. Thank you. It's just – that he was a friend of mine whom I have been searching for. Someone told me he might be here."

Her eyes, deep brown in colour as her hair, typical for the city of Budapest, grew sympathetic. "Oh, I am so sorry, I can't help you either. We didn't get to know him very well, he was here so shortly…"

Leon waved dismissively. "Aw, that's okay. I didn't expect you would be able to tell me where he went. Thanks again."

"Good luck with your search," she called after him, turning back to watering her plants, shaking her head slightly. She hoped the strange Count had been friendlier to the American than he had been to his new neighbours. Well, but they surely must have been great friends, if he went so far to find him again… then again, perhaps time had changed them both…

* * *

"Dann bleibt mir nur, Ihnen zu wünschen, dass Sie lange Freude daran haben."

The doors closed behind the customer. D's polite smile became cruel. He wouldn't be surprised if he was going to see the pet only too soon again. She was not likely to do what the contract asked of her.

But he wouldn't complain. He had only been here for four days and had dealt out quite a few contracts. As predicted, Berlin was proving to be a good choice.

A strange pain went through him again. How annoying! He hadn't been able to concentrate properly the whole day, due to this uncomfortable ache he couldn't explain. Sighing deeply, D sat down on the sofa and surveyed the already set out table. For a second, he placed his hand in the small of his back. Why did his back hurt so much these days? It hadn't been that difficult moving the shop to Berlin…

The pets sat down around the table, too, quarrelling about some toy loudly. D smiled, distracted from his aching back for the time being. Ten-chan snatched it and climbed onto a chair, holding it up so that the smaller ones couldn't reach it, laughing merrily. Pon-chan was near tears, and T-chan took his chance at getting something back at the fox for some earlier quarrel. He bit down on one of his nine tails. Ten-chan hissed in both fury and pain, dropped the ball and whirled around to give the totetsu a big scratch on the cheek.

D shot up. "Ten-chan, T-chan! Stop quarrelling and give me that ball!" he snapped. The pets froze, confused by their master's harsh voice. He himself looked as nonplussed as they were, surprised by his thin patience. But he held out his hand, took the ball and deposited it in one of his sleeves. Still shaking his head, he sat down again and took a bite of the cake.

The next moment, he jumped up, slapped a hand to his mouth and hurried out, practically running. The pets silenced at once and stared after him open-mouthed. "Count, what's the matter?" T-chan called after him. The sound of choking answered the question sufficiently. It was enough to send them all running to the bathroom, but the door closed in front of them, shutting them out. The totetsu hammered on the wood. "Count! Open the door! What's the matter with you?" he called worriedly.

They listened, but no answer came. The choking sound had stopped, too. Pon-chan elbowed her friend to the side and tried her luck. "Count, please let us in! What's the matter with you?" she pleaded.

The door stayed in place solidly and if the kami heard them, he decided not to answer. They exchanged frightened glances. At last Ten-chan cleared his throat.

"Well, if he doesn't open himself, there's no way we're going to get inside. If something has happened, the shop would surely help him. Let's get back to the front room," he suggested.

One after the other, the pets trailed away, still looking confused and whispering among themselves in hushed voices, until only Pon-chan and T-chan were left. The totetsu carefully knocked again. "Count? Please," he said silently.

This time his plea was heard. "I am alright, T-chan. Please go away. I think I shall rest now." The Count's voice sounded strained but firm. Pon-chan shrugged and tugged at T-chan's arm.

"C'mon, if he's in that mood, you won't get anything out of him," she said. The sheep-tiger let himself be pulled away, but his eyes were still worried. Something was wrong with the Count, and had ever been since they left America. If he just knew what it was…

* * *

D left the bathroom and carefully closed the door behind him. He sat down on his bed, brow furrowed in confusion. Most strange. He couldn't recall ever being sick for no reason in his life. Sure, there had been children's sickness when he'd been small, but even that had reduced itself to fever. And he'd surely never thrown up, no matter what.

He shook his head and flushed a little. How embarrassing! How lucky it hadn't happened while the customer was still there. He didn't dare think about how embarrassing _that_ would've been. Though he had to admit that his stomach had felt a little queasy the whole day. He'd only decided not to pay it any attention. He couldn't possibly be sick.

Perhaps he was just strained from moving the shop so many times in the last three months. Yes, that had to be it. He was strained and stressed by the constant flight from the detective. A good night's rest would take care of it. And that was that.

Determined to push the thoughts out of his mind, he went back to the bathroom and got ready for bed. He was asleep almost the second his head hit the pillow, dead to the world and everything going on in his body.

* * *

While D was blissfully asleep in Berlin, a man in America got angry even thinking about sleep. Leon bumped his fist angrily on the table and swore loudly. "Dammit, there _has_ to be a clue to where he left!" he bellowed. Jill looked up from her desk and regarded her colleague coolly.

"Would you mind stopping to swear?" she asked indignantly. "Because truly, it's not very amusing having to listen to you at the moment."

Leon slumped down in his chair, staring at the table emptily. The blonde woman sighed, went over and patted his shoulder in sympathy. "No one knew anything in Budapest?" she asked, referring to Leon's journey to the Hungarian capital.

He shook his head. "He was only there for a couple of weeks, not even a whole month, at least that's what his neighbour said. And he kept pretty much to himself. Not that that would be anything new," he added, leaning back and staring at the ceiling for a change.

Jill watched him for some moments. Then she nudged him. "So, you gonna continue searching?" she asked slyly. The blonde shrugged.

"Dunno. Why should I? He was the one who disappeared, not me. No reason to spend time and money on him, now, is there? Except Chris, of course." He sighed deeply, thinking of his little brother. "He won't let go, wants me to find him again."

"Well, I am with him. You haven't been yourself since he left," Jill said and sat down on Leon's desk. He eyed her warily, but she continued, set on her goal. "I mean, look at you! You're barely out of the hospital, and yet, you insist on travelling the whole world! You've been to, what was it again?, Budapest, London, Paris, Rome, and that in spite of what the doctors said. And when you weren't travelling around, you came here and worked though you're on sick leave still."

Leon narrowed his blue eyes at her. "I'm fine, Jill, really. The leg's getting better each day, I hardly feel it anymore. And just sitting around in my apartment won't help me get well again either."

"Still, Leon. I mean, I know you want to find him again, but sometimes it's just mad what you do. You're getting like that Howell-guy already." She chuckled. "Though I can of course understand why you'd be so obsessed with finding the Count again."

Leon's head flew up to stare at her. He growled. "What the hell? Jill, for once and always, I'm –"

"– not in love with the Count, yes, I get it. You've told me only about a thousand times," she finished with him. "But still you run off, chasing each rumour that might mean he's somewhere."

"I nearly got him in London!" Leon protested. "I was only a few hours behind him."

Jill placed an arm around his shoulders. Leon silenced, dumbfounded. She didn't do that very often, though they were good friends. Very good friends. Some of the other guys even assumed they were an item, but that was not what Leon felt for his partner. She was some kind of elder sister for him, someone he could go to with his problems, but who teased him mercilessly if she thought it appropriate.

Now her grey eyes were worried. "I don't ask you to forget him, Leon. Just – take it slow, okay? You have to get well again if you want to stay on the force," she pleaded. "I don't want you to sit behind a desk for the rest of your live. You're one of our best men, we can't afford to loose you, not even to the Count. Okay?"

Leon gulped. "Okay," he said weakly, caught off-guard by her little speech.

Jill smiled at him and got up again. "Hey, I've still got vacation days left. If you find another trace, just tell me, I'll go there and have a look at the situation. Bet I'll be more unsuspicious than you anyway, so perhaps he won't be forewarned of my arrival."

Leon tried to slap her, but she was too quick and evaded him easily, laughing. "One day, Jill, one day when you'll be unaware…" he threatened and she quickly left their cubicle, laughing loudly. "Coffee for you, then?"


	2. Something Strange

Kayi, you've been topped. Someone else was first in writing a review. Don't be sad, you're still the best –smiles-

And I am very, very happy that I am meeting "familiar faces" here again. I hope you'll enjoy "Unwanted", too, and thank you for leaving a review!

Btw: now that you say it, DemonGoddess, it IS kind of strange that I keep writing stories where the Count's not well… But that's not on purpose, I've got plenty of others, too. They're just not yet ready for publishing.

Thanks again, and have fun! So long, Enaty

**Something strange**

D woke to the sun shining in through the window in his bedroom. Gleefully he snuggled into his pillow a little more, silently congratulating himself on moving to Berlin. It really was a nice city, and the detective was not too fond of Germans, so perhaps he would be able to stay here some time, not like in all of the other cities he had fled too.

A knock on the door made him sigh regretfully. He'd have liked to wallow in this strangely content mood longer, but he had duties to fulfil. He stretched luxuriously and noticed to his delight that the ache in his back had indeed vanished during the night.

"Come in," he called and smiled when Tetsu entered hesitantly with a laden tray. "Why, T-chan, how nice of you to bring me breakfast! May I ask why?"

His totetsu sent him a surprised look. "You were ill yesterday," he pointed out. "We thought we should better take care of you."

If it hadn't been for the cake on the tray, D would've been angry, but so his smile merely lost its brightness. "There is no need to worry about me, Tetsu. I am alright," he assured and looked down on the tray that was placed in his lap. His mouth watered and he realised that he was really hungry. Choosing a cake, he took the fork and let it melt in his mouth.

But the usual glee wouldn't come. The kami opened his eyes again and looked down on the cake critically. T-chan noticed and edged closer. "Count, you're sure you're alright?" he asked, worry in his face. D shook his head and wrinkled his brow. He took another bite, but all that happened was that his stomach nearly grumbled. It was obviously not happy with the food D provided it with. And he had to admit that he'd suddenly rather have a tomato… or a peach. Some fruit, no matter which. But not cake.

He squirmed uneasily. "T-chan, say, do you have any fruits?" he asked hesitantly and hoped the totetsu wouldn't feel insulted by his change of mind.

"Sure." Eyeing him strangely, the totetsu went out and returned some moments later with another tray, this time laden with fruits, Pon-chan on his heels.

"Are you feeling better, Count?" she asked worried. He had to suppress a groan. His patience really seemed to have suffered under the detective. He'd never been so impatient before, but suddenly the worry of his pets made him want to scream with frustration. Quickly D soothed himself to answer friendly, shocked by his own rapidly changing temper.

"Do not concern yourself, Pon-chan. I am quite alright," he answered. The peach T-chan offered him did a lot to lighten his mood again. Oh, yes. That was much better than the cake.

The kami closed his eyes in joy as the juice filled his mouth. Perhaps he shouldn't start the day eating cake. Fruits were healthier anyway, and there was nothing wrong with eating something else than cake. There was no Leon here to tease him about his change of mind, and the pets would never comment on his eating habits anyway. Yes, perhaps some vitamins would be a nice change from his usual diet.

He'd eaten four peaches before he could stop himself. Confused, he hesitated before he could take a bite of the fifth and looked down on the fruit. His hands were stained with peach juice and he knew he had it all around his mouth, too. Shamefully D wiped it away, scolding himself for being so greedy. Really, what should the pets think?

Guessing by the look on T-chan's and Pon-chan's faces, they were more than a little bewildered. "Count, are you sure you are alright?" the totetsu asked, staring.

D blushed and snapped. "Yes, I am. I just do not feel like eating cake today, that's all."

Briskly he pushed off his covers and stood up, wanting to go to the bathroom. But instead of taking a step like he had asked them to, his legs collapsed underneath him and he fell back onto the bed. The same moment the strange pain in his back returned, searing through his body. D groaned in pain before he could stop himself. For some unknown reason, his hand flew to his belly to clamp it protectively.

Tetsu and Pon-chan were at his side in a second. "Count! What's the matter? Don't move! Have you hurt yourself?" the raccoon babbled hurriedly.

T-chan was more circumspect. "Do you want a cold towel, Count?" he asked. "Get your legs up, come on."

D simply felt too weak to protest. And not only weak – he was suddenly tired, so tired that it felt as if he hadn't slept all night. "I am alright," he murmured, trying to reassure the pets. "I am alright…"

His voice trailed off as he went to sleep again. T-chan drew the covers over him and then he and Pon-chan stood and regarded their sleeping master.

"He's not alright," the raccoon said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah," Tetsu conceded. "The question is, what _is_ the matter with him?"

* * *

It was night when D woke again. He looked around his bedroom for a moment, confused, but relaxed when he recognised the familiar surroundings. A soft sigh escaped him and caused someone in the room to stir.

"Count?" A shadow moved, uncurled and stood to become Ten-chan. The nine-tailed fox went over to the bed and bent over the kami worriedly. "How do you feel?"

D took his time to feel around his body. But it seemed to have calmed down, at least he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. "I am fine, Ten-chan. Is the shop alright?" he asked, threw the covers away and stood, stretching luxuriously. It felt good.

Ten-chan regarded him with a pensive glance. "We are alright, Count. Shuko took over and saw to everything," he answered.

D smiled surprised. "What a good girl," he said affectionately. "Did any customers call or come?"

The fox trailed after him on his way to the bathroom. "No, no one came. We're not yet here so long," he responded. D heard the unspoken 'And neither will we stay for long' behind the words and stiffened.

"We will stay as long as we can." He curled his lips and looked at Ten-chan reprovingly.

He sighed. "Why don't you just wait for him and tell him to fuck off?" he proposed and D glared.

"Ten-chan! Not enough that you are telling me since we left it was a mistake, now you also have taken on the detective's foul manners?! Oh no, we will surely not stay to await him!"

He slammed the bathroom door behind him, not waiting for an answer. Ten-chan raised an eyebrow. Whew. Their master surely was not himself lately, Tetsu was right. But that was not Ten-chan's concern. He was, after all, more a guest in the pet shop, rather than an actual pet of the Count's. And while he took a genuine interest in the events in here, especially since Leon had shown up, he could do well without shop and owner. Perhaps it was time to travel again. He hadn't done so for a long time, and times seemed to be quite interesting…

* * *

The apartment was cold and dark when Leon entered. He stood in the door, wavering between stepping inside and going out to find someplace else to be. Preferably a place where he could get so drunk that he wouldn't notice the emptiness in his flat when he returned home.

But instead, he went inside and softly closed the door, only to stand in the darkness, trying to figure out what to do now. It all seemed so meaningless. Had his apartment always felt like this or was it just lately?

He knew the answer to that question before even asking. Perhaps it had been empty before, but then he hadn't noticed. Or not cared so much. If he felt like having company, there had always been D to go to, and later, Chris and D. Now it was just him. No pet shop anymore where he could hang out until he was tired enough, or angry enough that he desperately needed an empty apartment to cool down again.

Leon sighed again and slumped down on a chair, letting the crutch fall to the ground. If Jill was angry at him for travelling around so much, she should try coming home to this once. It would sure make her understand what made him go around the whole world in search of someone he didn't even really know.

The blonde groped around for the remote control of his stereo and let himself believe that the music meant he was not alone. D would never have approved of it, would have hated it. The guy was just so girlish. What real guy cared for ballet and such stuff? Good ol' heavy metal was the far better choice, and to hell with the fact that actually a lot of heavy metal was based on classical music. It still was something different.

D would hate it. He would yell at Leon to turn the volume down, and to think of Chris who shouldn't hear some of the songs, because D thought the lyrics weren't appropriate for the boy, and then he would go straight to bitch about Leon's apartment being a mess again, and the posters in here, and that he should get some proper clothes instead of his beloved t-shirts…

Leon startled and came back to full consciousness, looking around and blushing for a moment. He had not just daydreamt about D living here in his apartment. Nope. So not. It had just been a memory of an earlier visit, surely. And he was tired, the jetlag was still getting at him. It was time he went to bed.

Determinedly the blonde got up and went straight to bed. His dreams were filled with strange, blurred memories of someone caressing his hair affectionately, sliding slender hands down from his head to his chest, over his whole body while murmuring something into Leon's ear all the time, the voice warm and affectionate.

When he woke again, he couldn't remember any of it. Finding he couldn't go back to sleep, he got up and stared at the star-dotted sky until dawn crept up and he fell asleep on the window-sill again.

* * *

The soft sound of the front door being opened woke T-chan, and he stared as his master left the pet shop somewhere around dawn without saying a word to anyone. But even if he'd called out for D, the young kami would not have stopped. He just had to take a stroll through the city. He couldn't help the sudden feeling of suffocation in the confines of his bedroom.

So he went out, breathing in the fresh air of morning. Usually he hated being up so early. But he'd slept the whole last day, and a good while of last night, too. He wasn't tired anymore. Checking the clock on a church, he noticed that it was barely after seven o'clock. He still had a lot of time until he would have to return to the shop and catch up with the work he'd not done yesterday.

The smell of freshly made bread made his mouth water. Oh yes. A good breakfast would do a lot to lighten up his mood again, too. So D stepped into the nearest bakery and ordered himself a slice of cake. He felt like it again. A good sign, it meant that everything was back to normal. Just as he'd thought. He'd simply been overstrained.

While he sat and enjoyed his cake, two women took the seats at the table next to him. One looked pale and pained. "Do we really have to get breakfast?" she asked with a faint voice.

Her friend patted her hand sympathetically. "Yes, honey, we do. Especially you. The baby has to get enough food, you know that."

D sent a curious glance at the pale woman. She was in her mid-twenties, and looked quite attractive, if one didn't take her paleness into consideration. The bulge in her belly was already visible through her clothes.

"Lisa, I really don't think that's a good idea. You know how the mornings in the past weeks have been," she objected, but her friend would not hear anything. She ordered coffee and tea for her friend, along with some breakfast. They continued talking, making D an unwilling eavesdropper. He listened to Catherine's pregnancy problems, for example, that she always felt so tired at the moment, while during the first months she hadn't been able to sleep more than four hours a night.

The kami nearly shrugged. Humans. Sleep was something his species needed, but they could go without for some time if they needed to. He, though, enjoyed sleeping, especially sleeping in.

He ordered another slice of cake. Catherine at the next table searched for something in her bag and then stood, swaying slightly. Lisa jumped up and steadied her friend. "You okay?" she asked, concerned. Catherine grabbed the chair and nodded, breathing deeply.

"Yeah, sure. Just a dizzy spell. Don't worry. Happens to me all the time now," she replied and took another couple of breaths before she made her way to the toilet. Dizzy spells. Being pregnant sounded everything but desirable. The young kami wondered why human women put up with such inconveniencies.

D finished his second slice of cake before Catherine could come back, and he wondered if she had fallen victim to morning sickness like she'd foreseen. For a moment he considered taking some cake back to the pet shop, but looking at the displayed desserts, he found nothing looked appealing enough. So he stood and wanted to leave.

Funnily enough, his head swam for a moment, too. D steadied himself with his chair and shook his head in confusion. Just like two days ago. Probably he'd just risen too fast, and his body had had too little time to adjust.

Still, suspicion had settled. The morning which had started so nice suddenly was clouded by unwelcome fears and doubts.

* * *

T-chan sighed slightly. Not only that his master had decided to take a stroll at dawn, a time when he usually would be in bed, fast asleep, he'd returned from it in an even fouler mood. The pets sidled away whenever he turned up somewhere, trying not to catch his attention. Fortunately for them, the pet shop was quite sought after today, due to having been closed the last day, and D was kept busy by the customers. Still, even to them he was more irritable than usual and earned some surprised looks. Not that he cared about it.

Just the moment before a man had left with one of the birds, a small nightingale. The kami should have been happy at selling another contract, but instead, he snarled at the back of the retreating man, looking like he regretted giving the nightingale to him. The human, feeling his presence was not welcome, hurried out while D glared daggers at him. Then his expression changed into surprise mixed with revulsion.

"Tetsu, please close the door."

The Count's voice sounded suddenly thick, and throbbed with something indefinable. The totetsu hurried to do as he was told and then rushed after his master, who was quickly gliding into the back of the shop, apparently in a hurry, too. The pets called to him, but he didn't turn, didn't even scold Pon-chan when she got between his feet. She stayed where she was, staring after him dumbfounded.

"What is it, Pon-chan?" Tetsu asked hurriedly and helped his friend up.

"He's pale as death," the raccoon whispered, eyes wide. "He looks like he's going to die any second, Tetsu!"

She had barely finished her sentence when the Count, ahead of them, suddenly doubled over, right in front of his door. Grabbing his stomach, he vomited as if he wanted to get rid of any inner organs he possessed. There was no stopping the pets. They all rushed to him, surrounded him, tried to help him best they could, but he just waved them away, braced himself on his hands and kept on vomiting.

Finally, he stilled. His arms trembled, and his head hung. Hesitantly the animals approached their master again. Tetsu was the first to lay a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Count, let's get you to your bed," he murmured and helped his master stand. On the kami's face was a bewildered look, as if he wasn't quite able to get what had just happened. It was a feeling he shared with everyone in the pet shop.

Gently they guided him inside, but there D suddenly seemed to come to his senses again and stopped. "I will not go to bed," he said firmly. "It is nothing. Probably there was just something wrong with the cake. I am fine."

T-chan let go of his arm and crossed his arms. "You're fine. Of course. You're perfectly well, Count," he said sarcastically. "Except that you're tired to your bones, can't keep food inside and faint at every given opportunity. But you're fine, of course."

His master glared at him. "I am not sick, Tetsu," he said icily. "And I want to be alone now. Go away."

The totetsu dropped his sarcastic behaviour and rushed forward to grab the Count's slim shoulders. "Count, stop pretending!" he pleaded, exasperated. "Everyone can see you're not okay! Just take a break for once, please! Find out what's the matter with you. Ever since we left America, you haven't been yourself!"

D looked surprised hearing this. He hadn't really noticed the gradual changes he had undergone. But apparently the pets had been more observant.

Still, that didn't entitle any of them to give him orders. He wasn't angry anymore, but he really, really wished to be alone. To get to the bottom of this business, and preferably without anyone hovering nearby all the time.

"I will find out what is wrong, but I will do so alone," he announced firmly, hearing a sigh of relief from most of the present pets.

Tetsu, however, was still not happy. "Count, please let one of us stay!" he pledged and took one of D's hands. "What if you faint again? Or if something really bad happens? We won't notice when you're alone, we can't help you then."

"T-chan, I assure you, I am alright. Please leave me alone now," D said softly, not accepting more protests. He really tried to be calm, but his patience was stretched to the breaking point. The pets left reluctantly, but he was firm and shushed them out. Then he sat down on the chair in front of his dressing table and tried to concentrate. It was difficult, lately. There was constantly something else that kept his thoughts straying, whether it was his aching back or the sudden nausea that came and went like lightning. But it had never been as worse as today.

Impatiently D tapped his long fingernails on the gleaming surface of the table while he tried to figure out what was the matter with him. It couldn't be sickness – his kind never got sick in the way humans did. And it couldn't be exhaustion either, though he had to admit that he'd needed much more sleep ever since he left America. Only the reason why was unbeknownst to him.

Nausea. Sleep. Aching. Dizziness. What could it possibly be? Those were human weaknesses, not ones his kind possessed. The woman today, she had suffered from those, for example. He'd overheard her quite clearly, complaining about her pregnancy problems…

Oh, no. No. That couldn't be.

Cold fear formed a lump in his stomach. Quivering, D laid a hand to his abdomen and concentrated.

Only thirty seconds later he stood and went to the antique telephone in the corner. He picked up the receiver and dialled in a number. A voice at the other end answered almost instantly in Chinese. D took a deep breath.

"Grandfather, it's me. There's a problem. Please come to me immediately."

Then he hung up. He had not the strength to explain over the phone what had happened.


	3. Family Conference

Honestly, guys, is this so bad it only deserves one review? I know, it's not nice to ask for reviews, but the whole point about posting this here is that I want to know what YOU think about it. And I honest to god don't care if you're doing critique or praising me.

Anyway, thanks to my faithful Kayi :-) And have fun with the third chapter, everyone, even if you don't leave a review.

So long, Enaty

**Family Conference**

"He's here?! Why?!"

"Shut up, I can't understand a word of what they're saying!" T-chan hissed and Pon-chan pouted, but did as he told her anyway.

Shuko appeared in the doorway and stared at the pets gathered in front of her room. "What's the matter?" she inquired curiously. The totetsu straightened.

"Q-chan's in there," he said, as if that explained their behaviour. The dragon didn't seem to understand, so Tetsu decided to venture further.

"The Count called his grandfather, Shuko."

"Well, why shouldn't he?" she asked and almost smiled. "He's his grandfather."

T-chan exchanged an exasperated glance with Pon-chan. "Shuko, the Count's been angry with Q-chan ever since he found out about him," he said indulgently as if talking to a little child. She pecked her head to the side.

"Well, perhaps he needs his help," she suggested. Totetsu and raccoon looked plainly unbelieving.

"What for?" he asked and Shuko shrugged.

"Don't ask me, ask the Count."

"He won't talk to us," Pon-chan complained. "He's been strange ever since he got sick yesterday."

"I see." The dragon's eyes were blazing with amused secrecy. "Why do you eavesdrop then? Why don't you just go in?"

"The door's locked…" T-chan started to explain, but by some unknown force, the wood suddenly opened a crack. He looked between dragon and door, decided he didn't want to know and slipped in, the other pets on his heels.

"I can't believe it!" Sofu D paced the front room angrily. D sat on the sofa, unmoving, and held his hands clasped in his lap. His face showed no sign of any feeling. The pets sidled around, unsure of what to do, sending him questioning glances. But he hadn't explained anything to any of them, either. Since the last evening, since he'd come back from his room, he'd been silent. Not even T-chan could coax anything out of him. Shuko looked at him with wise, knowing eyes, but didn't comment. Now she was listening, too, head stretched in from her room.

The eldest D stopped in front of his grandson and stared at him hard. "You are sure. You are sure it's not something else."

D bowed his head in affirmation. "I am, grandfather. There can be no doubt as to what my condition is," he answered.

Sofu D sighed deeply. "What do you want to do then, my grandson? Have you decided yet?"

Now the younger shook his head. "I have not, grandfather. I have only become aware of it yesterday and I immediately called you."

Something in his voice, or perhaps in his paler-than-usual face softened the expression on Sofu D's features. He sat down and hesitatingly put an arm around his grandson's shoulders. "You could forget about it," he suggested. "You could get rid of it."

He felt the shiver in D's slim body. Instinctively he clutched his abdomen, as if he wanted to protect it. Sofu D sighed again. "It seems you already have decided. Very well, my grandson. Then you shall give birth to the child," he said as calmly as he could, though everything in him was going postal at the mere thought.

His grandson was silent for a long moment. Then he nodded. "Yes, I think I shall, grandfather," he murmured faintly and hung his head.

T-chan chose this moment to make his presence known. "WHAAAAAT?!" he screamed and stomped over to the sofa. Both heads flew up and the kami stared at the fuming totetsu. "You are WHAT?! Pregnant?!"

At the sight of his disbelief, a small smile curled D's lips. "It seems I am, T-chan," he answered calmly. The totetsu gaped, as did the other pets, with the possible exception of Shuko, who didn't seem as surprised as they were. Surprised, yes, but not as knocked over by the news as them.

"But – when – why – where – _who_?" T-chan sputtered and sat down heavily on the floor, gaping at the Count with wide eyes. His grandfather turned towards him, too.

"Yes, that is a good question, my grandson. Who fathered your child?"

D knew he was going to drop a bomb. And he was afraid of it. But he would not lie, not about this. He took a deep, deep breath and spoke.

"Leon Orcot."

"THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE!" T-chan screamed so loud that everyone else winced. "I'LL KILL HIM!"

Sofu D made a decisive gesture with his hand, and the totetsu's voice was cut off. His golden eyes scrutinized his grandson. "How?" he demanded. His voice quivered with rage, and D was sure he was assuming what everyone else did, too. That Leon had raped him, or taken advantage of him. Not able to look his grandfather in the eye, he hung his head.

"There was this one evening," he started hesitatingly. "After Chris had left. I was just coming home from a little walk. On my way back to the shop, I saw the detective sitting in a bar. He was drunk, I could tell, and I went inside to send him home."

He took a deep breath. His heart was hammering in his chest. "Only that I walked him home in the end. I don't think he registered much. Back at his flat, I wanted to leave him, but he pulled me inside and wouldn't let me go. He was talking all the time, about me, about Chris, about him…"

Most of the pets were hissing and growling now. T-chan had bared his teeth and looked like he was about to storm out and run back to America until he'd found Leon and ripped out his throat. D's voice was shaking, but he continued all the same.

"I wanted to leave, at first. But when he talked about me, it was so strange, almost as if he didn't know what to do with me anymore. As if he'd fallen in love with me and didn't know what to do with it. And I -" he had to take another deep breath to steady his voice. "I took advantage of his drunken state and seduced him."

The growling and hissing stopped. The shop went deadly silent. Unable to look elsewhere, D stared into his lap, abdomen plainly in his view. "I didn't know – I never thought – that it would yield in this result," he concluded with a quivering voice. "I never expected to conceive. It was not my time, and the officer is human. I can't explain how this could happen at all."

Now his voice was desperate, pleading. Sofu D stared at him, unable to believe his own ears. Why hadn't he noticed? He remembered that evening very well. His grandson had come home late, very late, and he'd looked somehow both calm and wild. Not a hair had been out of place, and Q-chan hadn't been able to find out what had caused his strange state, but he knew something had happened.

Only then things had started to change so quickly that he'd completely forgotten to question his grandson about it, and then his son had died, his grandson had moved the shop and fled the United States and until yesterday, he hadn't heard from him.

And now he was pregnant. With Leon Orcot's child. _Pregnant_, for god's sake. With _Leon Orcot's_ child.

"Oh my." A deep sigh heaved up Sofu D's chest. He stared at his grandson, at a loss what to say. He could see the younger was fighting to keep the tears in his eyes, and knew it wouldn't take long before he'd start to cry.

The eldest D gently laid his hand on his grandson's shoulder and spoke, softly. "Go to bed, my grandson. Sleep, and tomorrow morning we can talk again."

Both the pets and he watched D stand up and walk to his bedroom in complete silence, still keeping one slim hand over his abdomen. Only when he was safe in his room did they let out the breath they'd been holding and stared at Sofu D. He met their eyes with a raised eyebrow.

"What? My grandson has decided. You should better get ready to have a baby in this shop in a few months' time."

* * *

"You will change, of course," Sofu said matter-of-factly to his grandson, sitting on the couch again, gazing anywhere but at him. The now youngest D was playing silently in a corner of the shop, confused by the events. He'd brought him to his grandson's pet shop yesterday evening. He hadn't wanted to, originally, but with D being pregnant, he had to care for him as well as for his great-grandson.

So now the kid was here, too, looking every bit as confused as everyone felt. He couldn't hold it against him.

"Your body will adjust to the needs of the child," Sofu D continued as if nothing had distracted his attention. "You will probably turn more female, perhaps even completely female. It depends on what your body thinks necessary."

Now his grandson's head turned towards him, confusion in his eyes. "I will become a female?" he whispered and sounded almost terrified. Sofu D hurried to calm him down.

"Only as long as you're carrying the child. Afterwards, your body will reinstall the original state."

"Oh." D's gaze wandered off again and settled on the little kid in the corner, looking at him with bright, violet eyes. He saw his father in them, as clearly as he'd seen him last. But he probably couldn't remember anything of what had happened, and it was good that way.

Something strange stirred in him, almost a protective feeling towards the child. It had to be his condition. He usually didn't feel protective towards children, not this way. Only towards Chris, and…

…well, the child growing in him.

Hesitantly he clasped his hands around his abdomen, as if afraid he might break something if he clutched too hard. It was still strange. Unbelievable. To think that in there a new life was growing… a life he and Leon had created, though unaware of it.

He knew the child was there. He could feel it. But even though his head was telling him that it was there, he felt like this was happening to someone else, not him. Some part in him still screamed angrily that there was no way this was happening. That there was no way he could have conceived that night.

And how in all heavens had it happened? His species could procreate with humans, of course, but it was difficult. Very difficult, and in the old times, when the occasional couple wanted to get a baby, great efforts had been necessary, especially if his species was to carry the child. He couldn't recall one case in which one night had been enough.

It seemed nature had chosen to leave him holding the baby. Literally.

"Are you even listening to me?"

Sofu's voice cut through his thoughts and he jerked his head up, staring at the eldest D with wide eyes. His grandfather regarded him with a strange look. "You do not seem overly happy about your pregnancy," he commented and took a delicate sip of his tea. D nodded, and then shook his head.

"I – don't know, grandfather," he confessed and looked at Dee again. "I do not know about raising our kind."

Now the corners of Sofu's mouth quirked. "I would gladly advise you, my grandson, but I am afraid I do not know either how to raise a hybrid," he said dryly and D flinched. For a second he regretted having told his grandfather who the child's father was. It had been crystal clear that he wouldn't approve of Leon as the father of his great-grandchild. Not that any other human would be better. But Q-chan and Leon had always been as much enemies as Tetsu and Leon had been.

"You can still abort it," the eldest D continued. "It is not yet too late. You left America only four months ago."

D clenched his teeth. "I cannot get rid of the child, grandfather," he forced out. "It has done nothing wrong. I was the one who made the mistake, not it."

"Oh please." Sofu D waved dismissively. "A child with human blood? Not that I want to sound bitter, but what loss can that possibly be?"

"It is also my child, grandfather," D reminded him. Tetsu crawled into his lap and bared his teeth at the eldest D.

"Don't talk him into something he doesn't want to do!" he warned him.

Sofu looked taken aback. "I am merely trying to help him. We are not talking about nursing a human child for some time, we are talking about raising one," he said sternly.

Ten-chan uncurled in his corner and hopped onto the sofa beside D. "I don't get all that uproar," he said with mischievously sparkling eyes. "What's the big deal? It's just a kid, after all, not a monster. And even a monster would not stick out in this shop."

For the first time since D had found out about his pregnancy, he smiled and petted Ten-chan. The nine-tailed fox might upset him quite often with his jokes and lax attitude, but he was also good at lightening things up and setting them in the right light.

Sofu D sighed unhappily. "Very well, then, I shall not mention it again," he said, miffed. "But do not hesitate too long if you want to get rid of that burden, my grandson. It might be too late by then."

Ten-chan rolled his eyes. "Oh, could you just shut up for once?" he asked friendly. "If the Count gets fed up with the kid, he can still drop it on Leon's doorstep. Would be great to see his face when he finds it!" His eyes blazed with amusement. Suddenly the weight upon D's chest lifted a little. Perhaps the situation wasn't as lost as he'd thought. He just needed some time to get used to it.


	4. Pregnancy

xD **Kayi**, be careful, you know explosives aren't for kids, and there's gonna be a kid in this story pretty soon ;-P Well, D actually is a hermaphrodite. But he's going to be a female very, very soon… just wait -grins-

Thank you, too, **Atenea**! I'm honoured that you have a look at this, even though you don't like m-preg… even though this isn't REALLY m-preg, for the simple reason that D is a hermaphrodite. Anyway, wait and see if Leon finds out… he's a detective, after all -grins-

I'm at your service, **Ranyo** -bows and smiles- Thanks for reviewing!

To **everyone else reading**: here's the fourth go. Have fun!

**Pregnancy**

Getting used to being pregnant took more time than D had anticipated. More time and surely more patience and stamina. Because honestly, it was no fun, being pregnant in the pet shop with his grandfather around. Though he did what he could to help him, he couldn't refrain from making his comments every now and then. The pets were split in two: one half, like Pon-chan, was practically delirious with joy that he was pregnant. The other, to which T-chan belonged, did not approve at all of the fact that Leon was the father of the child, but felt responsible for their pregnant master anyway and treated him like some kind of very precious antique.

And of course, there were the usual pregnancy problems to be dealt with as well.

* * *

The day hadn't started well. And D doubted it would get any better.

Sighing, he left the bathroom and stared at the big mirror over his dressing table. T-chan rolled over on the bed and opened a sleepy eye. "Count, you're alright?" he asked concerned.

The kami managed to favour him with a strained smile. "Yes, thank you, Tetsu. I am quite alright."

Thankfully the totetsu hadn't woken when he'd rushed to the bathroom and thrown up. Morning sickness was not one of the delightful sides of pregnancy. (If there was anything delightful about being pregnant, that was to say.)

And neither was the constant ache his changing body caused. The kami let his silken dressing gown slide down and looked at his reflection in the glass. His once so beautiful, cherished body – he could already see the changes it was making to adjust to the task of giving birth. What identified him as a male was actually shrinking, much to his displeasure. Not that he cared much for his male genitals anyway, but he was used to them. The thought that they might vanish completely made him almost freak.

And there, where his once flat belly had been, there was a little bulge. Well, granted, a little _more_ than a little bulge. How came he hadn't noticed it earlier? How could he overlook such an occurrence?

But then again, the last months had been very busy. With Leon on his heels and on a constant flight, he hadn't had much time to reflect on what was happening. And he'd certainly not spared a thought to his belly. He'd had no reason to suspect anything was wrong.

Only now did the kami realise that he had actually overlooked the changes purposely, not even daring to think of pregnancy. He'd told himself it was impossible, and that the signs had to be something else. And then he'd gone and sold a pet, ignoring the queasy stomach and the ache as good as possible.

Hindsight didn't change anything. Sighing, D's hands slipped to the bulge and gently stroked it. A smile appeared unnoticed on his lips. Baby. What a beautiful word. He was going to have a baby. A real, living baby, and it would be Leon's.

…

Oh, just great. Couldn't he at least for once decide which mood he wanted to be in? One moment it was all wonderful, feeling the child growing in there, and the next he was on the verge of tears again. Especially if he happened to think about the baby's father. This had to stop! Else he would go crazy before the child was even born.

Determined to push the detective from his mind, D wanted to turn, but something caught his eye. He startled and looked closer at the mirror. Was there… his hips were wider now than they'd been before, but that was only to be expected. The child had to be born, and the wider the hips, the easier that part would be.

Not that he expected giving birth to the child to be an easy task at all. But it would be easier.

No, what was worrying him was the fact that his nipples seemed to – stand out a little bit.

Oh, good lords. No, please not that. Please.

T-chan, having observed his master closely, pecked his head to the side and looked into the mirror, too. "Hey Count, are those breasts?" he asked curiously.

The kami whirled around. "No!" he spat. "That are most assuredly no breasts!"

The totetsu had to turn to hide his smile. "Whatever, Count. But you've got to feed the baby. Could get difficult with no breasts," he stated and rushed to the door to avoid getting hit by one of the items the kami was throwing at him. Once out in the corridor, he broke down laughing.

D heard him laugh from the inside of his room and sighed unhappily. He was right, of course. The baby would have to eat once it was born, and at least in that his species was no different from any other mammalian. They fed their children by breastfeeding them, whether he liked it or not.

Gods, had he known what Leon would do to him, he would've kicked the detective from his shop the very minute he walked in. Breasts! How horrible was that?!

Glumly he grabbed his silken cheongsam and put it on, wriggling uncomfortably in the fabric. Good gracious, now he had to get wider ones, too? Only to meet the needs of his changing body?

Another wave of nausea made him forget about too small clothes and rush to the bathroom. While he was vomiting (what was even left in his stomach that he could throw up?! He hadn't eaten since the day before yesterday, due to constant sickness!), he cursed the child as well as its father. He should've known better than to sleep with Leon. The detective had never meant anything but problems. The pregnancy just topped it.

* * *

Sofu D just took one look at his grandson's face and knew this was going to be another bad morning. Which wasn't that much of a surprise, seeing that all mornings lately had been pretty bad.

Sighing a little, he poured him a cup of specially prepared tea that would ease the nausea a little bit and lessen the ache his body must create while adjusting to the baby. At least he managed a silent "Thank you." when he took the cup and drank the tea, coiling up on the sofa. God, their species never looked bad, or ugly, but if ever one of them came close to looking that way, it was his grandson today morning. He surely was in no shape to open the shop.

The eldest D put a plate of food in front of him. His grandson eyed it with disgust. "You have got to eat, if only to nourish the baby. You will do it harm if you don't," he reminded the younger and turned to Dee, who was watching them with fascination.

"Grandfather, what's the matter with father?" he asked with a childish voice.

"He's pregnant, nothing more," the eldest D answered calmly and looked at his plate critically. "You don't have an excuse not to eat, Dee."

The youngest sulked, but took a few bites, still eyeing his 'father' curiously. A clink behind Sofu D told him that his grandson had chosen to eat, too. Silently he guessed how long he would manage to keep the food inside.

"Excuse me!"

Well, about thirty seconds. Not good.

Exasperated Sofu D sighed and sat down. They had to find a way to make D eat. If not, he would loose the child for sure. Of course that wouldn't be such a terrible thing, at least as far as he was concerned. But he strongly suspected that his grandson would be rather displeased with that turn of events. Really, how could he have gotten himself pregnant by that insufferable human?! It was most disgusting, and if he didn't love his grandson so much, he'd have made him get rid of the child the moment he heard about it.

Of course the fact that he was growing tired with having to look after D played a rather important role in his aversion. After all, the father of the child should be the one taking care of the mother if he was still alive, and there was no doubt that Leon Orcot was yet very alive. It had not been right of his grandson to seduce him, but why couldn't he just tell him the truth and make the detective care for him? He could still throw him out afterwards and raise the child in the proper way.

He really had to ask his grandson that question. When he'd stopped throwing up.

* * *

When D returned half an hour later, Dee was playing in the corner again while his grandfather sat on the sofa and calmly sipped his tea. He put down the cup and smiled at him. "Do you feel better, my grandson?"

Not daring to open his mouth, D barely nodded and sat down, too, trying to look graceful and failing miserably. But well, he was getting used to turning ugly and fat and clumsy. It just added to his chagrin.

"You still could get rid of the child," Sofu D suggested, sensing his grandson's feelings. A second later he wondered again at the circumspection of Nature. Even the suggestion that he could hurt his child made D's eyes blaze with protection and his hands cradle the bulge of his belly. That thought he would have to abandon, much to his displeasure. The pregnancy was too far, the feelings of his grandson towards his child already too strong to make him consider this easy solution. Force was out of the question.

But he still could hope that it would take care of itself, which it surely would if D continued to throw up any kind of food. They'd tried so much by now – vegetables, noodles, rice, fruits, bread, milk – nothing would stay down. It was most annoying, even if it made the possibility of a miscarriage more likely.

His grandson's totetsu growled at Sofu D. He raised one eyebrow in mild surprise. Well, the animals felt his disgust at the child, of course. But as long as he was needed by his grandson, they couldn't do anything about it.

"How long will I stay pregnant?"

The strained voice surprised Sofu D. He looked up into mismatched eyes that were tired and sad. He tried to suppress the feeling of protectiveness, but then, nature had wisely invented another knack that called itself 'mother instinct'. He had been both mother and father for his grandson, and even though he was grown now, Sofu D felt responsible for him. Perhaps he should have told him more about his species and their biology. Perhaps then he wouldn't be pregnant now.

"I don't know. Our species carries a child slightly shorter than humans do, but the child will be a hybrid. It will know when it is ready to be born. My guess would be another four or five months," he answered, trying not to sound exasperated. Four or five months! It seemed like an eternity.

"What will happen once it is born?" D inquired, taking a spoon and idly playing with it.

Sofu D shrugged. "It will grow. Your body will resume original state. What else should happen?"

The younger sent a glance at the child in the corner. "Will it grow as quickly as we do?" he asked.

The eldest D considered the question and then shook his head. "I cannot tell you for sure, but I don't think so. It will be a hybrid, as I have told you. His process will differ from both the human and our process. Humans need longer than our species to grow. Probably it will take it's time. It might be a bit faster than human children are, but be prepared to raise a very small child for a very long time."

D regarded Dee. He was already about three years old by now, although he had only been reborn little than four months ago. The kami didn't know whether his species really grew up faster than humans or if it was one of the changes they had made to adjust to being reborn without any parental help. It didn't matter, though. The child he was going to have would be special in every way imaginable. It would be the first child in many, many generations in his family. It would be the first child in even more generations to be conceived by a human father. And it would be the first child of him, as well as the first child Leon was going to have.

"What about the father?"

Sofu D's voice made him look up into his grandfather's golden eyes. Knowing how to read them, the younger saw anger in them, disgust and exasperation, but also something softer. Worry.

He glanced down at the spoon again, turning it over and over in his fingers. "What about the detective?" he asked silently.

The elder raised an eyebrow. "Well, are you not going to tell him about his child?"

D considered the question. Until now, he had been too busy with being pregnant to think much of the reason for it. And when the thought had popped up in his mind, he'd quickly abandoned it again in favour of other things. Did he want Leon to know what he had done? He knew the detective couldn't remember the night in which the child had been conceived. He hadn't made him forget, for whatever reason. But Leon had forgotten all the same. The alcohol had taken care of it for him.

He remembered feeling both glad and disappointed when the blonde turned up the next day, complaining about his headache, but not even once mentioning he could remember any of it. After some careful inquiries D had coaxed out of him that he couldn't even remember how he'd gotten home. Last thing he could remember was asking the guy at the bar for his twelfth beer. Then – blackout, as Leon had posed it so eloquently.

His mind wandered off Leon as his stomach started to growl. His grandfather sent him an exasperated glance. "Do you want to try again?" he asked, making an effort to be polite.

D shook his head and stood up. "No, thank you, grandfather. I will go and visit Honlon. She's been asking for me," he said and hurried out. Sofu D stared after him in silent astonishment. He'd known pregnant women could be difficult and strange. But experiencing his grandson, he seriously wondered how any human male could want to have a child if he had to put up with this beforehand.

* * *

"How is my little sister in there?" Shuko asked and gently nudged the bulge in D's belly. The kami smiled up at her.

"Why are you so sure it will be a little sister, Shuko?" he asked and petted Junrei, who had placed her head beside him and was watching his belly with wide eyes. Kanan was still not looking at him, she was sulking. D didn't exactly know why. Usually the Leon part of the dragon was quick to curse the detective to hell and any uncomfortable place she could think up, but now she seemed to have changed her mind.

For a moment he felt something like a bad conscience rise. But what use would it be, telling Leon about his child? He would get angry, he would yell at D and that was something he really didn't need right now. And if the blonde decided he didn't want to have anything to do with his kid, well, then…

D knew very well that he was afraid to be disappointed. He preferred to stay innocent, to be able to dream that Leon would welcome him and the child, allow them to become part of his life, love them. If he went and told the human about his child, chances were good that those images would be destroyed in the blink of an eye. D wasn't sure if he could stand that. Not at the moment, not when he was so close to tears anyway all the time.

"Have you chosen a name yet, Count?" Junrei asked and brightened. "We could think of one together! What about Leonie?"

"Junrei!" Shuko scolded her sister, sending a glance at the Count, who suddenly bit his lip and looked sad.

"What? It means 'lion heart'. It's a good name!" the girl-dragon defended her choice whiney. Now Kanan shot round.

"NO one will call _my _little sister with the name of that bastard!" she shouted, eyes blazing furiously. "No one!"

Two heads and one kami regarded her surprised. The Leon-dragon scowled. "What kind of father is he even? He doesn't care about any of his kids!" she hissed.

"Now, Kanan, the Count has never told him that we're back in the shop. Neither does he know about our little sister," Shuko said peacefully, and Kanan's burning eyes wandered to the Count.

"Hmph! One has to be a great idiot to do something so unfair!"

D paled. Junrei wailed. "Kanan, don't be so mean to the Count! He's pregnant!" she cried, but her sister just turned to look at the wall again. The kami stood with weak knees.

"I think I should go now," he said, lips almost white.

"No, Count, stay! We haven't thought of a name yet!" Junrei tried to convince him, but he just shook his head.

Shuko nudged him. "Don't care for what Kanan says, Count," she said quietly. "She is quite wound up about everything. She wasn't happy leaving America, and now the pregnancy… it's all a little too much for her."

D smiled. "I know," he said quietly. "She's far more vulnerable than she lets on. Just like-" He didn't finish his sentence, but beat a hasty retreat. He didn't feel like he could stay near Kanan any longer. Not when she reminded him so much of his child's father.

He made his way back to the front room out of sheer habit, then remembered that grandfather had probably opened the shop and he might intrude on customers. D bit his lip again, but this time in anger. He _knew_ he couldn't take care of the shop at the moment. But he was still annoyed that Sofu D had taken command over everything without even asking. Of course, the shop was his, but still… he had been the one to look after it in the past few decades. Grandfather could at least let him take part in running it now.

All of a sudden sharp pain shot through his body. D gasped and broke down on his knees, clutching his belly desperately. The bulge was moving under his hands, terrifying him at once. The child had never moved until now. And he could feel it wasn't the child moving in there, it was his body cramping around the baby.

Horror filled his chest as he remembered his grandfather's words. "No!" he yelled, coiling around the bulge. "No, don't leave me! Don't! I'll – I'll find I way, I promise, but don't leave me, don't!"

Of course the words changed nothing. He hadn't expected them to. But screaming them out loud helped D remember what he had to do. What his duty was. So he clung on to the little life in his body, trying to hold it in there, willing his body to stop cramping and trying to get rid of it on his own. He didn't even notice he was biting his lip so hard it started to bleed, or that he had coiled up like a cat around his belly, or that his legs were clamped vicelike. His only thought was to protect the baby, to keep it where it was, until it was strong enough to leave his body and live.

When the cramps faded again, D found himself gasping and shivering in a corridor, surrounded by worried animals. Weakly he reached up and Tetsu caught his hand. "Count, what's the matter? Is it already time for the child?" he asked anxiously.

The kami shook his head. "No," he ground out. "No, it is not. Tetsu, prepare as much food as you can. I don't care which kind of food. Just anything."

He stumbled into his bedroom and curled into his bed, still breathing harshly. Now he noticed that tears were streaming down his cheeks, and his whole body was still cramped. He feared to let loose, afraid the cramps might come again.

The door to his room opened and Dee came inside. "Father? Are you alright?" he asked with a tiny voice. D pushed himself up and smiled at his 'son'.

"Yes, I am, Dee," he lied, not wanting to scare him.

The boy came closer and looked at him with wide violet eyes. D felt a pang. _Father, help me. I do not know what to do, and grandfather is angry with me. I am afraid. Help me. Tell me what to do._

"Is there really a child in your belly?" Dee asked and climbed onto the bed to sit before D. He smiled at the kid uncertainly. Until now, they hadn't talked much to each other, either. D was absentminded most of the time, and Sofu D had anyway taken over Dee's education.

But now the kind of curiosity he knew from his father blazed up in the child's eyes. D nodded. "Yes, there is a child in there. Would you like to feel it?" he asked, feeling strange now that he was the one explaining to his father.

Dee nodded gleefully and laid a small hand on D's bulge. He carefully felt around. The elder kami felt his fingers probing and testing. "Be careful, Dee. Don't touch too hard," he said.

The violet eyes flicked up to him again. "Can I hurt the baby?"

D shook his head. "No, not with just touching. But I am very sensitive at the moment," he explained. "My body is changing a lot, and it hurts almost all the time."

"Will it stop hurting soon?" Dee looked sympathetic.

D smiled. "Yes, I guess it will. When the baby is born, it will stop for sure."

"When will it be born? Grandfather didn't tell me how long we will stay here. Will you have it like the animals have their babies?" Dee's face brightened. "Will you have an egg like the birds have? That would be interesting!"

The elder hid his smile behind his hand. "No, Dee, I will give birth to your – sister or brother like a mammalian. I won't lay an egg. It's much more like a monkey would give birth." He was surprised it was so much easier talking about this to Dee than it had been with Chris. Perhaps because a kami child, no matter how young it might be, had already seen much more than a human child like Chris.

A clink in the door made both look up. Tetsu stood in it, bearing a try with various foods. "There you go," he said gruffly, hiding his worry behind the grim tone, and set the tray down besides D on the bed. "And if you don't manage to keep at least half of it inside, I'm gonna kill you."

D eyed the tray. There was soup, and then there was something looking like porridge. He pointed to it. "Tetsu, what is that?"

T-chan sat down beside him and followed his gaze. "That's mashed potatoes. It's German food," he explained. "I thought, perhaps you could eat them…"

D took the spoon and examined the yellow glop curiously. Then he took a bite. To his astonishment, it tasted quite good. He took another. "That's good, T-chan," he said surprised.

The totetsu grinned broadly. "Hope so. Haven't travelled the world for so long for nothing," he pranced. D listened inside, but his body was not showing any of the usual signs that he didn't approve of the food. No, quite the contrary. His stomach was growling with hunger.

D's face lit up and he dug into the bowl. At least one of his problems was solved now. He would have to take them slowly. One at a time. He could do it. He just had to.

* * *

"_Leon."_

_The voice purred into his ear, sounding satisfied and needful at the same time. He didn't know how that could be, but he wrapped his arms around the slender body all the same and drew her closer, whoever she was. He couldn't remember, but it didn't matter anyway. She was feeling nice and pliable and soft, could he ask for more?_

_Still, something was off here, terribly off. If Leon opened his eyes, perhaps he would be able to remember what exactly it was, but his eyelids were so heavy…_

The telephone ringing woke Leon and he grabbed it without opening his eyes. "Yeah?" he grunted into the receiver sleepily. It was Chris.

"Brother, I think I found him!" he babbled, sounding both excited and frustrated. "Momma says it's not him, but I am sure! It's surely Ten-chan who did that, I know it! He's in Jamaica, brother!"

The blonde took a moment to sort out the words. Then he threaded a hand through his hair and sighed. "Chris, would you please at first tell me why in hell you think the Count's in Jamaica?"

A long explanation followed, consisting of a tale of a man – who seemed to be a drug addict to Leon – who had met with a stranger in strange Asian clothes – who had to be the Count, according to Chris – and who had given the man a boy – assumedly one of the pets – who had turned into a small dog.

It all sounded more as if the guy had had some really bad shit, but Leon still listened to Chris and asked him where he had come across that story. When he found out it he had found it on the net while surfing with Sam's PC, he carefully tried to explain to Chris that there was a lot of false information on the web. Not surprisingly, his little brother wasn't too happy to hear that, so Leon promised to take a closer look at the tale and said goodbye before Aunt Mary could come and rant about D and Leon's crazy search.

And then he sat on his bed in his apartment, stared at the wall and felt completely overwrought and tired at the same time. He already knew that feeling, it was familiar from many, many stake-outs. Not that he liked it. He always started thinking weird things if his mind wasn't kept busy all the time, and just at the moment, there was not much to keep him busy. He couldn't even try to figure a case out, because the chief had insisted on two more weeks sick leave. Leon had the vague suspicion that this was due to Jill's worry about him. She just couldn't leave him alone lately.

Sighing, he got up, got himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the window again. It was early, or late, depending on interpretation. Anyway, the city was never quiet, so Leon had a lot of things he could distract himself with. He watched cars drive by and tried to recognise them by sound, like Jackie Chan did in 'Thunderbolt'. It didn't work. Then he started guessing what the people walking by did for living. This guy worked at a McDonald's down the street, he knew him, and that girl over there did some stuff in the supermarket round the corner, and that one looked as if she was a lawyer out for the night…

He finished the coffee and switched on the TV. Jamaica, huh? Well, at least it was warm over there, not like in Spitsbergen, where this strange wolf was said to have turned up one week ago. He guessed he could get a flight to Jamaica and have a look at this, thanks to Jill and her worry.

* * *

Sofu looked at the clock and closed the door firmly. It was time for a break. He would go to the back and have a cup of tea, and then he could work again. It was time to check on his grandson and great-grandson anyway. He hadn't felt anything out of the ordinary, but still, better to be on the safe side. One could never know with the pregnancy.

D was reading in an old scroll when he entered and laid it aside with a smile. "Tea, grandfather? I just prepared some herbal tea."

"I do hope you checked the ingredients," Sofu said and sat down.

D poured him a cup. "Of course, grandfather. Do you think I want to risk anything?"

The elder preferred not to answer to that. Since the almost-miscarriage, he'd stopped talking about getting rid of the baby. His grandson had been terrified, so much that he'd had nightmares for nearly a week. It had taken Sofu days to calm him down again. It would not do to remind him of that.

Instead he looked around. "Where is your son?" he asked and D pointed to another door.

"He is asleep. He played with the pets for quite a while, but then he got tired. I laid him to sleep about twenty minutes ago."

"Mm." The eldest sipped his tea delicately, trying not to think about the strangeness of the situation. Never had they raised a child together, not since their species had nearly been erased. It had always been one raising the youngest and one looking after the shop, or all three of them apart. How came they were acting as if this situation was nothing out of the ordinary?

"I do hope your pets won't spoil him," he said and put down his cup. D wriggled a little and tried to find a position on the sofa where his now clearly visible belly wouldn't bother him.

"My pets are well-trained, grandfather. They will not spoil him," he replied.

Sofu raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, I remember you regarded their treatment of Christopher as acceptable, too."

D sighed softly. "Chris was a frightened human child, grandfather. Dee is neither human nor frightened. They are treating him in the proper way. Actually, Pon-chan set his head straight only an hour ago."

The eldest decided not to voice his opinion of the favourite raccoon either (who was quite spoiled herself, if one asked him). They drank tea for a while in amiable silence.

"I trust the shop is going well?" D inquired finally.

"Yes, it is going very well. Berlin was a good choice, my grandson," Sofu answered and they went on talking shop business. It was quiet in the room, save for their voices. The pets had retreated to leave D his peace. Off lately, he had needed to be alone sometimes.

"She took one of the wildcats. I think she might actually adhere the contract if that husband of hers doesn't interfere." Sofu snorted disparagingly. "Why do sensible women marry stupid men? It is quite a mystery, even to me."

D chuckled a little. "Perhaps they feel they have to protect them from their stupidity," he suggested. The eldest sent him a meaningful glance.

"Well, stupidity has always been attracted by intelligence and vice-versa," he said mysteriously, but D got the meaning alright and blushed.

Then his mismatched eyes lost focus and turned inside as if listening to something in his body. Sofu D sat down his cup and watched attentively, suddenly alert to the last nerve in his body. Something was happening.

The younger kami suddenly gasped and clutched his belly. Sofu D shot up. "Cramps?" he asked, trying to estimate the child's progress until now. Could it live if it was born?

But D shook his head. His hands started stroking the bulge tenderly, and his mismatched eyes were wide with wonder. "It's moving!" he whispered, sounding incredulous. "Grandfather, she's moving! She's alive!"

"Oh please, do stop crying!" Sofu sank down on the sofa again, trying to hide his relief behind a mask of annoyance. "Well, of course it is moving. It should better be, what else did you expect? You are going to be pushed and hit from the inside from now on until it is born."

The younger one smiled at him tearfully. "Do you want to feel it?"

Sofu hesitated. Then he crossed the distance between them and laid his hands on the belly of his grandson, right where his hands had rested before. He felt around gently. The child actually responded to his touches. It pounded the belly from the inside.

"You will probably not get much rest with this in your body," Sofu said dryly and retreated to his seat again.

"No," D agreed, but he didn't seem overly troubled by that fact. In fact, he'd never looked happier since he got pregnant.

The eldest sighed. "You wish to tell the pets yourself or shall I be the herald?" he inquired ironically.

D's smile brightened. "I will tell them myself, grandfather, thank you."

Sofu D rolled his eyes in comical exasperation. "They are going to wrap you in silk and cotton from now on," he predicted. "I will return to the shop. Call if anything happens."

"Yes, grandfather," D answered, but it was somehow absent-minded. The eldest stopped in the door and sent a last glance at the younger, sitting on the sofa and stroking the bulge with a far-away expression on his face. A smile appeared unnoticed on his lips. He gently closed the door.

The customers who walked into the shop this afternoon noticed that the Count seemed to be in a quite good mood.

* * *

"Hello, my small one," D said softly and felt a responding punch inside. He placed his hand on the spot where it had been visible under his silken skirt. He chuckled when another punch met his hand. "You are quite lively, it seems," he told his child, resuming his caresses. He wasn't sure whether the baby could feel the stroking hands inside his body, but still, it felt like the right thing to do.

"So, you decided to make your presence known, did you, little one? How do you plan to proceed from here on? I do hope you will remember that giving birth is not an easy task and that I do need some sleep if I shall deliver you healthy and without complications," D told the baby. He listened inside and felt the curious mind, shapeless yet, no true personality, but there and eager to develop.

He felt further and realised Honlon had been right. He was pregnant with a girl. For a second he felt a little bit disappointed. To give birth to Leon's son would have been nice. But on the other hand, a little girl, a daughter to dress up beautifully, would be wonderful, too. Perhaps she would not inherit the manners her father had, and his wild temper, but instead become a lovely young lady. He could imagine it, teaching her the fine arts of etiquette and good behaviour which Leon had never been able to grasp.

Yes, a girl would be wonderful, too. But now that D knew about her, there was another problem he hadn't thought about yet. She would have to have a name. But what would be fitting? Should he wait until she was born to find a fitting one or should he decide now? What human names were there he liked?

For a second his face darkened as he thought about Junrei's proposition. No, he would not name the child Leonie. For one, he didn't like the name, though of course it would be fitting for Leon's daughter. And second, he didn't want to call his child by the name of the one he had left. She would be remembrance enough.

The door opened, snapping him out of his thoughts. Dee was standing in it, eyes still a little bit sleepy. "Father, has something happened?" he asked and climbed onto the sofa besides D.

The elder kami smiled. "The baby moved," he told the child, whose violet eyes grew wide.

"Really?! Can I feel it?!"

D laughed softly and placed the small hands on his belly. "Of course you can," he replied and looked at the door again to see the totetsu standing in there. His smile flickered a little. "What about you, T-chan?" he asked.

Tetsu hesitated and then came closer, kneeling down beside D. He extended one hand and gently poked the bulge. The child punched back and D rolled his eyes. He surely hoped the girl would not carry that habit through birth.

Tetsu smiled. "Wow, it's quite a fighter, isn't it?" he said.

"She," D corrected. "The baby is a girl, just like Honlon predicted."

Now it was the totetsu's turn to roll his eyes. "Oh, _she_," he said. Someone called from outside the room and then suddenly a lot of pets were streaming inside, babbling excitedly.

"It really moved?" a cat called. D laughed again and leaned back in the sofa. He could already predict what would happen. But he didn't mind at all. The pets should know his child from the beginning. They would have to endure it for quite some time.

* * *

It got evening before D could think about a name for his child again. While he rolled around in his bed, careful not to put too much weight on his bulge, he went through human names in his mind. He could of course name the girl Jill. It would be okay, and he liked both the name and the woman he connected with it. Still, it didn't sound right.

There were of course other human names which were beautiful. Elizabeth, for example. The name of queens. No, not right either. Mary? Too commonplace. Emily? Sounded nice, yet… no. What had been the name of the girl who took one of the cats? Oh yes, Esmeralda. Beautiful, yet no, too.

There were a lot of other names, too. Julia, for example. Or he could take a European name, perhaps Genevieve. He liked that one, too. Only the story connected to the name was not quite a pleasant one.

D sighed heavily and felt the girl do a somersault in his belly. His lips quirked. "You're surely nothing but problems, little one," he murmured and gently stroked the baby. "What would your father name you, hm? I bet it would be a terrible name, some Hollywood actress or something like it."

Yet, as he spoke about it, he remembered that he and Leon and once talked about names. No, only about one name. D had mentioned it, and Leon had actually said he liked it. What had the name been?

The kami taxed his mind, but he only remembered the name had started with 'D', too. That would be nice, yes. It would connect the child to his family, even if she was only half kami.

Dana. That was it. The name Leon had liked.

D smiled. If he remembered right, the name meant 'knowledgeable'. And the Persians called valuable, perfect pearls 'Dana'.

He liked it, too.


	5. Which way will you choose?

Well, now _that_ is a good question, **ShinoHina**. A very good question. Do you really expect me to tell you and ruin all the fun? ;-)

You know what, guys, I'm feeling friendly today. And I don't like the number 26 anyway. So here's one day early the fifth one. Btw, Kayi, I hope you're still online ;-)

**Which way will you choose?**

_Leon's blue eyes were cold as __ice__ as he shut the prison door behind D. "So, you bastard, now you get at last what you deserve. __Told you I would get you one day!" His voice was triumphant. "You're never gonna get outta here again, never ever!"_

_Someone entered behind the blonde, carrying a bundle of cloths in his arms. Sharp pain shot through D's heart at the sight and he yelled unwillingly. The cloths moved and a baby's cry answered his. The kami reached for the bundle helplessly, stretching his arms through the bars. He whimpered in despair, mixing Chinese and English words all together, but nevertheless meaning the same. "Baby, my baby! Give her back, give her back to me!"_

_Leon hit the bars, as well as D's arms, but he didn't care that the young kami cried out in pain. "Silence!" he roared. "You bastard! Don't think you'll ever get that back. We'll hand it over to the scientists and they can decide what to do with that!" _

_He pointed accusingly at the bundle. D whimpered again, reaching as far as he could, but his child was still well out of reach. He screamed at Leon, anger and despair driving him nearly crazy. "How can you? How can you dare give her away?! She's your child! She's your own child!" His voice overturned._

_The blonde strode over and looked at the bundle in disgust. "That – thing – is not my child. It may have a few of my genes, but that doesn't make it my kid. You took advantage of me, I can't even remember where or when. __Whatever this is, it's surely not my child."_

_He left the cell, leaving D behind, still screaming and screeching for his baby. But the bundle was carried off as well, not even granting him a last glance at his child. The kami slumped down at the bars, whole body shaking with sobs. But he knew he couldn't escape. His child was gone and he was unable to do anything about it. They would give her to the scientists, they would conduct experiments with her, and they would someday kill her, whether by accident or on purpose didn't matter. His child was going to die, Leon hated him, and worst of all, he hated his child. This innocent, sweet young life that hadn't done anything wrong except being born. _

D jerked up in his bed, gasping for air, tears streaming down his face. "No! No, Leon, don't! Don't leave her!" he cried out, before he could stop himself, clutching his ever growing belly tightly. T-chan jumped onto the bed and embraced his master, offering protection. His hands stroked up and down D's back in soothing movements.

"Count, calm down. Leon's not here. Nothing can happen to you or the child. You're both safe," he whispered, holding him tight.

The kami rested his head on the totetsu's shoulder and wept desperately. He felt horrible. The nightmare had been so real. He had almost smelled Leon's scent, felt the cold blue eyes on his body. There had been no trace of warmth in there, just disgust and hatred and also fear. Fear of what D had done and fear of his own child. D's whole being cried with despair, tried to believe otherwise, but there could be no doubt as to what the blonde had felt.

The child moved restlessly under his hands, woken by its father's nightmare. It pounded his belly from the inside, afraid and panicked. It felt something was wrong. The knowledge that his baby was afraid calmed D down. He fastened his hands even tighter around the bulge.

'_Be quiet, lovely, beautiful. Do not worry. I won't let anybody harm you, trust me, my child. Nobody. Not Leon, not grandfather. No one will hurt you, ever. I promise. I will protect you,'_ he told her silently, fiercely. _Whatever happens, I will make sure you will be safe from the humans and their narrow-mindedness. _

The door was opened and his grandfather entered. "Are you alright?" he asked, not bothering to conceal the worry in his voice. D tried to regain his composure.

"Yes, grandfather, thank you. I just – had a nightmare," he choked out. Sofu D came and sat down beside him on the bed, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"The human is bothering you," he said gently. "You are thinking about him all the time, aren't you?"

There was no use in denying that. D bowed his head in affirmation. "He gave the child to the scientists," he said in a low voice, horror shining through. "He put me into prison and gave her away."

Slowly his grandfather's hand started to stroke him. D bit his lip, but then leaned into the soothing caress. It had been a long time since his grandfather had shown any such affection towards him.

"The humans will be sure to inquire about the child," Sofu D said into the silence. "You will have to find a place where you can raise it in peace."

"What do you mean?" Suddenly D was alert again. He searched his grandfather's face for clues, but it was unreadable.

"It would be best to raise it in China. Somewhere far away from humans, until it is old enough to conceal its true nature. I think our kind's old home would be a fitting place," Sofu D said calmly. D shook off his hand and stared at him.

"But – I cannot leave the shop alone!" he protested.

The eldest D bowed his head. "I could take the shop again. I am looking after it at the moment anyway," he said.

D shook his head vigorously. "No, grandfather. No. You have to raise Dee. The shop is my responsibility, as is everything that comes with it."

Sofu D raised an eyebrow. "You want to raise your child among humans, my grandson? Remember what they did to us because we were different. They can do it to your child as well, and it is too weak to protect itself."

For some reason D couldn't explain, he hated the idea of returning to China with all his heart. He didn't want to go there, didn't want his child to grow up there. "She will be half human anyway. I will hide her until she is old enough," he said firmly.

Sofu gave a short, mirthless laugh. "You are endangering your child without a second thought, D," he said. The younger kami shuddered. His grandfather so seldom used his name. Only if he wanted to emphasize his point.

"I know why you don't want to raise the child in China," his grandfather said and a blaze of anger showed in his golden eyes. "The human. The father. You do not want to tell him, but still you wish he might find out, don't you? Do you think it would be wise to let him raise this child?"

"I – I don't want Leon to raise my child!" D protested wildly. "He's not fit to do that! He can't raise a child!"

"Then why don't you want to go to China?" Sofu's eyes held his. D lowered his gaze.

"I do not know," he confessed silently. "But I – want to raise her in the pet shop. I do not want to leave it."

"You are aware that you will have to raise it alone? We cannot be in the pet shop both. One of us has to raise the youngest. If you would go to China, I would give your son into your care so you can raise him with your own child until he is old enough to come to the shop again."

Sofu's face was hidden in the shadows. His voice was blank, didn't let on his thoughts. D nodded, suddenly feeling miserable. "Yes, I know." He heaved a deep, shuddering sigh. "I am willing to do that. Perhaps it will be a little more difficult than before, but still… Will you stay until I have given birth?" His voice held a desperate pledge.

The next moment, he gasped with surprise. His grandfather had wrapped his arms around him and was holding him tight. "I will not leave you alone without help when you need me," Sofu's voice whispered into his ear. "I shall leave you after you have given birth. But as long as you need me, I will be here."

As quickly as he'd taken D into his arms, he let him go again, stood and smoothed out his clothes. D recognised the movements as his own somewhere in his brain, but something else was busying him too much to give it much thought.

"Grandfather-" he began uncertainly, but the eldest held up a hand and silenced him thus.

"Go back to sleep, my grandson. You need to sleep for the child. Tomorrow morning we will talk about how you are going to run the shop while you raise your child," he said, voice as crisp and firm as ever. D barely had time to nod before Sofu had left his room again.

* * *

"So, he wasn't in Jamaica either, was he?"

Jill swivelled her chair around and faced her colleague. The blonde sighed deeply and shook his head. "Just like I thought, the guy was on drugs. He was just hallucinating. What he saw was a Chinese tourist walking by with her son and dog. Don't ask me why in hell he dreamt such stuff. It's completely crazy, the whole story."

The blonde woman wisely kept silent about the fact that Leon had actually journeyed to Jamaica to have a look at it himself. Instead, she placed something in front of him. He regarded the piece of paper curiously.

"What's that?" he asked, turning it over in his hands. Jill smiled triumphantly.

"Well, I did a bit of research myself. And guess what happens? An old friend of mine who married a German wrote me a mail, telling me about some strange incidents with pets in Germany. She works with the dpa, that's the German news agency, and more or less tumbled over them. Each and every incident happened in or near Berlin."

Leon turned blue eyes up to his colleague. "You're sure?" he asked, hope making his voice breathless.

Jill sat down on his desk and nodded. "What I got from her was a warning from some animal control in a local newspaper. They seem to think there's a new animal epidemic that causes them to get at their master."

The blonde grinned and waved the paper. "Sounds as if it's worth a try."

"You've still got five days left," Jill said and stood up. "On one condition."

Leon stopped grinning and looked at her, hard. The woman sighed. "Listen, Leon, I tried to get you as much time as possible. But it's gotta stop someday, and no one can deny anymore that you're pretty well again. So if you want to continue searching for the Count, you'll either have to do it in your holidays or quit the force."

Her grey eyes held Leon's. He swallowed hard. "One last try, Jill. I promise, I won't fuck it up this time."

She smiled a little. "You can only fuck it up if he is even there. Good luck anyway." She turned and left the cubicle to give Leon time to think. He stared at the piece of paper, thinking hard. Perhaps Jill was right. Perhaps she was not. Did he want to give up his job to look for D?

Leon pushed away the thought. He could think about it later. Now he had to pack up and get a flight to Berlin.

* * *

"He will arrive in two days."

D jerked up and looked at Sofu D confused. Dee tilted his head to the side and looked at his great-grandfather, too. They had been playing, neither had even noticed him entering. "Who will arrive in two days?" he asked with his childish voice, while D bit his lip. Sofu sent the boy a long, pensive glance.

"The father of your father's baby," he answered. Dee brightened.

"Will he come visit us? I want to meet him. Oh please, father, can he come visit?"

"Dee, leave us alone." Sofu's voice tolerated no protest. The youngest kami sulked and shuffled out, leaving D alone with his grandfather. Sofu sat down on the sofa and smoothed out his clothes. "What will you do, my grandson?" he asked calmly. "You still have two days, if you want to leave. But we both know your baby will be born soon. If you wish to tell him about it before its birth, now will probably be your last chance to do so."

D shuffled around, trying to find a position from which he could stand up easily. Sofu reached for him and helped him to his feet silently, then to a chair. The younger sank down with a relieved sigh. The big belly made it difficult to do anything, and D caught himself thinking that he would be only too happy to finally give birth. Not that he minded his daughter sharing his body – but it would be nice to be alone in there again.

"I cannot tell him, grandfather," he said quietly and felt the child move. She was restless lately, not leaving him much time to sleep or rest. It was another sign that birth would be due soon.

"Why not? It's been months since you left. Perhaps he will be happy to find you again." Sofu almost managed to sound convinced. D glanced at him, but his face was unreadable.

"Grandfather, do you want me to tell Leon?" he asked sharply. The elder raised a brow.

"I wish to make sure you won't do something you might regret later, my grandson," he answered. "And as much as I despise this uncouth human being, I am pretty sure you will regret this decision someday."

D blushed, feeling what his grandfather really wanted to say and bit his lip. Could he deny that he was in love with Leon? Did he want to deny that he was in love?

The answer to both was no. But Leon was not in love with him. D prided himself that he knew the human by now, having been able to study him two years. He didn't like to admit it, but the detective was the only one who was still able to surprise him constantly. Every time he thought he had finally figured Leon out, he discovered something that cast a new light on the blonde. And he didn't feel like he wanted any unpleasant surprises where his baby was concerned. For that he'd rather give up the pleasant ones.

"He is, of course, a rather remarkable specimen," Sofu said languidly and played with a flower from a vase beside him. "Not educated, but remarkable. He is not someone I would want near my child –" a sharp glance at D, reproving him for the many, many times he had not listened to Q-chan's warnings and scolding "- but even I have to admit that he has some remarkable character traits."

D almost smiled. "Grandfather, do not overstrain yourself. I know very well what you think of Leon," he said calmly. "And though I do not concur with you in most respects about the detective, I am neither willing to tell him. Do not worry that your great-grandchild will fall into his hands."

The relief on Sofu's face was so great that D felt a pang. Whatever he did, he would always have to hurt someone. He would hurt Leon by not telling him, and grandfather by telling him. That was what resulted from loving a human, being torn between two worlds, not able to decide which was the right way to take. If nothing else, this surely made them a despicable species.

"I will go prepare the shop then," Sofu said and stood. "We do not have to hurry, but we should be gone by the time he arrives at the airport."

"Do so," D conceded and tried to ignore the voice in his head. He felt Sofu going around in the shop, notifying the pets of their plans. Their reaction was as usual. Nearly all of them were not happy at all. Most just disagreed silently, some protested openly. But Sofu never listened to protest.

There was a quiet knock at the door and then Ten-chan slipped inside. He smiled at the Count on the chair. "Hi. It's true, then? We're going to flee again?" His eyes sparkled and D harked up. The nine-tailed fox was one of those who had opposed moving each and every time, even more than Honlon.

"What are you up to now, Ten-chan?" he asked suspiciously. He came closer and knelt before the kami.

"Nothing. I can't do anything about you moving the shop, not as long as there's three of you in this place," he answered calmly. "But I won't come with you this time."

D paled and felt his heart miss a beat. "What? Why not?"

The fox placed his hands on his belly and caressed it gently. "I've decided to have another go at the world. I've stayed in the shop for a while, it's time for me to get back to wandering earth." He turned gleaming eyes up at the Count.

"Don't be silly, Ten-chan. Why should you leave the shop?" he protested, but there was a definite note to Ten-chan's voice that told him the decision was already made.

"No, Count, I think it's time for me. You know my kind isn't made to live in one place for very long. I'm sorry it's gotta be now, when you're just getting the little one. But still, I've gotta go." The nine-tailed fox smiled up at him. "Don't worry, I'll be back. I've always come back so far, haven't I? It's just time for me again."

D gave in with a heavy heart. "If you insist, I wish you much luck, Ten-chan. But I would rather keep you here."

The fox grinned. "And I'd stay if I felt like staying. Take good care of you and the little one, and don't let that old man get at you for any of it. Where's the problem with the kid? I liked Leon, and I'm sure the kid's gonna turn out just fine."

The kami harked up again. "Ten-chan, are you planning to tell the detective?" he asked sharply. "I will not allow you to do that. This is none of your business."

The nine-tailed fox rolled his eyes. "Relax, Count, I'm not going to tell Leon anything. I'll leave the city as soon as possible, probably even before you. Anyway, what should I tell him? I don't know where you'll be going to. I'll have to search for the shop myself when I want to return, you know that."

D sighed. "I am sorry, Ten-chan. You are right, of course. It's just – I do not want him to know."

The fox's eyes gleamed with an old fire. "Our fear often gets in the way of what is good for us," he said knowingly. "And truth can't be hidden forever."

"Not now," D replied quietly, hands protectively over his abdomen. "Not yet. When the time is right, I will tell him."

Ten-chan sighed and got up again. "The time never is right for such explanations, Count. But I won't argue with you about that again. You will do what you must, and I'll do the same. I wish you much joy with the child, and a good birth."

"Have a good live," D answered and watched the fox leave. Then he got up, too, sighing deeply. He had a shop to get ready, and a son to be kept out of places where he didn't belong. Enough to take his mind off a certain human and uncomfortable thoughts.

* * *

Ten-chan left the shop that very evening. D watched him go, soothing Pon-chan, who was crying bitterly. Tetsu idled around, grim-faced, and the glances he shot his master were as unfriendly as they ever got when the Count was concerned. The kami knew his totetsu silently blamed him for Ten-chan's decision. They'd had some rather unpleasant arguments every time D had packed up in a hurry and left another hiding place in another city.

So when D felt heavy tiredness in his body, he was more than glad to have an excuse to retreat to his room. He settled down on his bed, staring at the ceiling and caressing his belly absent-mindedly. The baby was silent today. She seemed to be asleep. At first D had worried, but a quick check had shown him she was alright, so he left it at that. In fact, he welcomed the pause. Perhaps he would be able to get at least a little sleep tonight. She had not felt like granting him any the night before.

He felt himself drowsing off, and for some reason, even when he woke the next morning, he felt like still dreaming. A feverish activity had caught the pets and they were wreaking havoc in the shop. D floated through it all, there and yet not there, eyes looking into some far distance. He felt something was happening inside of him. The child was not asleep anymore, she was silent, as if gathering her strength. D tried to talk to her, but she didn't listen to him, as lost in thought as he was on the outside. So he stopped his efforts and was just content to listen inside.

Sofu sent him questioning glances, but the younger kami didn't feel like speaking. He heard some of the pets talking about his latest strange mood in hushed voices, but their suspicion was that it had something to do with Leon. They wanted him to rethink his decision. D couldn't even smile at their concern. He was walking as if surrounded by thick mist, everything outside his body feeling unreal and far away, much farther than what was happening inside.

The trance lasted until the shop started to move suddenly. D had been so wrapped up in himself that he hadn't realised Sofu's preparations, and when the first tug of the shop freeing itself from the confines of the human building shook him, he nearly lost his balance. Shocked, he stared at the wall, feeling the movements under his feet. Then he realised they were actually leaving.

Suddenly an urgency he couldn't explain shot through his body. He left his room and tried to find the right corridor, trying to go as fast as he could in his current state. The child woke and started pounding his belly from the inside. D went even faster. It couldn't be… something was wrong, he knew it. He could _feel_ it.

The girl was fiercer than usual, her small fists hitting him hard. D felt the sudden panic she was feeling and didn't know if she was feeling his own unexplainable panic or if he was feeling hers. He just knew his throat was for some reason corded up, and he hastened through the dark corridor. He needed to get to the deck. He had to go there. He had to find Leon, had to tell him… something…

Again a feeling as if he was going to throw up went through his body. D steadied himself with one hand at the wall and continued his way to the deck, carefully cradling his belly with his other hand. But he didn't come far. Only a few steps later a sharp pain shot through his body and he felt his belly contract hard. A breathless cry escaped his mouth and he broke down to his knees.

_No. Not now. Please, wait, little one! I'm not ready for you yet. Please stay where you are, Dana._

If his daughter heard what her father-mother was telling her, she decided to ignore him. Just like her father would, too. This time the contraction was so hard that D screamed. He felt his thighs getting wet and knew that now there was no stopping any more. His daughter wanted to be born, right now.


	6. Birth

He. I know, the last one was a pretty nasty cliff-hanger… Me sorry? -blinks- I really do hope I lost no one, especially Kayi. You all right? Oh dear, I _told _you to be careful with explosives – especially now ;-)

Anabel, welcome and thank you! I'm honoured that you've got a look at this. Wait and see what Ten-chan will be up to this time ;-)

And of course thanks to Angie and Elise, too :-) Have fun with the next chapter, everyone!

**Birth**

On the deck of the ship, T-chan tilted his head to the side and listened sharply through the noise the other pets were making. Honlon looked at him curiously. "What's the matter, T-chan?" she asked. The totetsu hesitated.

"Didn't you hear a scream, too?" he said then and turned back to the steps that led inside the ship.

Honlon turned, too, and shook her head. "I didn't hear anything," she answered, but started to walk all the same. T-chan followed, driven by a strange restlessness.

When they neared the entrance, they heard indeed a faint scream somewhere inside. It didn't take more for the totetsu to break into a full run. "Count!" he yelled. "Count, you're alright?"

The noise on the ship stopped immediately, only to start again a few seconds later much louder. Every pet was screeching and screaming in fear and agitation.

T-chan flew down the stairs, closely followed by Honlon and Pon-chan. He saw the crouching figure immediately, kneeling on the floor, face torn in pain. With a few quick steps, he was beside his master and knelt down, too. "Is it time?" he asked breathless. "Is it coming?"

The Count made a strange sound, something between a laugh, a gasp and a desperate wail, then he cringed again and clamped his hands around his big belly. "It is time," Shuko said behind the totetsu. "I will go fetch the eldest. You bring the Count to his room."

Tetsu nodded and carefully helped his master to stand. He was cramping his hand around the totetsu's arm so hard his knuckles went white. Pon-chan ran ahead and opened the doors. The kami walked slowly, hesitating every few steps and cringing again. Tetsu's worry increased trice every time.

"Will you be able to go to your room?" he asked, fear in his voice. "Shall I fetch someone to carry you?"

D looked up at him and managed to look amused. "No thank you, T-chan. I am quite able to walk myself. Only –" He cringed again. "Only have patience," he panted then. "It is difficult with the pain."

Sofu D swept inside and immediately took D's other arm. "You chose a good time to give birth," he said a little ironically. "Couldn't you have waited a little while longer? Now Dee has to steer the ship."

"You will have to complain when my daughter has been born. She is the one who made that decision. And Honlon can help him," the younger answered. Sofu wiped away some sweat carefully. D stopped, closed his eyes and tried to breathe deeply. "I am sorry, grandfather. He wanted so much to see the birth."

"He will live," Sofu said dryly and guided D inside his bedroom and to his bed. "I do not think I would have allowed him to see it anyway. He would only have been in the way, you know how curious he is."

D smiled and then another wave of pain pushed every thought off his mind.

* * *

He'd never felt anything like this. The pain tore him apart, frightened him to death, even though grandfather and Tetsu were right beside him, soothing him, trying to help him through the birth. He'd not expected it to be easy, but it was taking so long, so terribly long. He knew he'd been in labour for some hours, though how many he couldn't tell. Sometime around six hours he had stopped counting the seconds.

All he could think about now was the baby in him, scared to death by what was happening. And though D himself was almost as scared as she was, he tried to keep down his panic and talk to the little child still in his body.

_Don't be afraid, my little. Do not fear. I am here, and I'll always be here for you. I won't let anything happen to you. Just be brave and let's get through with this. Be brave like your father is._

Another contraction, even harder than before, made him scream in agony. The knuckles of his hands went white as he cramped them around T-chan's hands, wishing they were Leon's hands instead. Wishing the father of his child was here to help him through this.

His head was swimming, both from pain and exhaustion. D tried to concentrate on breathing slow and deliberately and failed. He silently cried to Leon to help him through this, help him to give birth to their daughter. But Leon was far away, he could not hear him. Could not help him.

But his memories of him were not far away. D gritted his teeth and tried to think of Leon. The first time he had stepped into the shop, the thrill that had flashed down D's spine at his sight. Their numerous fights, the cakes and pastries Leon had brought him, the shy smile that had graced his face sometimes, when D had left aside his fears and dared to speak to him without spite and sarcasm. He could almost see Leon now, standing in front of him, arms wide open, waiting for Chris to fling himself into them. D imagined that the blonde was not waiting for his little brother, but for him to fling himself into those strong arms. And then, not him, but a child, not D, but not Leon either, both of them combined.

A last loud scream, and then suddenly he felt empty, so empty inside where his child had been for so long. But before he could mourn the loss of this feeling, he heard another cry, and it was the high-pitched, annoyed cry of a baby just having been born.

All of a sudden D felt more like singing. T-chan let go of his hands and curiously looked over to where Sofu D was just taking care of the little squirming kid, carefully cleaning it with a washcloth. D's head fell back against his pillow and he took a deep, shuddering breath. He'd never felt more exhausted than right now, and never more happy. Happy and proud. He'd given birth to his child, his own child, and Leon's.

Sofu D wrapped the little girl in a towel and carried her over to the bed. D extended his arms and a second later he felt the weight of the child in his arms. He couldn't do much more than stare at her, her wrinkled little face, her tiny hands, her almost white skin.

And her bright blue eyes, blue as the ocean, speckled with little golden spots. Leon was looking at him in those eyes.

"She's – beautiful," he said and heard his voice break. Sofu D smiled, a soft, tender smile.

"Yes, she is, my grandson. Congratulations. You've just given birth to the first child in our family for twenty generations."

D smiled, but he wasn't able to look away from the baby in his arms. She yawned and sleepily closed her eyes, obviously as tired from the birth as he was.

T-chan had fallen silent beside him, staring at the little girl with wide eyes, completely overwhelmed. His throat worked, but no words came from it. At last he just bent down and gently, carefully, kissed the little head. "Hi, you," he managed and looked at the Count. "So, what's her name?"

"Dana," D answered and took one of the little hands in his. "Her name is Dana."


	7. Just the two of us

Thanks for the reviews, guys! No, I haven't forgotten Leon, don't worry... ;-)

**Just the two of us**

"Da_na_. Da-na. _Da_na."

D tasted the name, letting it roll over his tongue, pronouncing it in as many different languages as he knew. But no matter which one he chose, the name still was beautiful. As was the child lying in the crook of his arm and sleeping peacefully.

D hesitantly extended a finger and touched his little daughter's face. "Beautiful pearl," he whispered. "Wise. Clever. Unique."

He breathed a chaste kiss on the small cheek. Dana didn't even stir. She was tired from the birth. It had been long, and painful and D wasn't sure yet if he was still alive. But she was here, finally. She was _here_.

The sleeping child sighed and wrapped tiny fingers around his. Astonished D stared at their intertwined hands. He had slim fingers, compared to most humans. But Dana's tiny hand made his look big, almost too big. And this long fingernail…

The kami stared down at his sharp, painted nail. He'd never noticed red was such an angry colour. And Dana's skin was so pale and fragile. Would he hurt her with his nails? Could he?

Fear gripped D's heart and he suddenly shuddered. So much to think about, so many things he had to adhere. How should he raise his child, now that she was actually here? How should he explain…? Could he… ever… explain…?

His eyes dimmed as his thoughts wandered away, far away. They crossed an ocean, travelled a continent and finally reached a city on the borders of a strange land. Found a building in the ever-waking city, found a corridor and a man sitting in there, reading a report with wrinkled brow.

_Leon,_ he called out for him silently. _Leon. You've got a child, Leon. You've got the most beautiful daughter the world has ever seen. Can you hear me, Leon? You have got a daughter!_

* * *

Somewhere far away in L.A., Leon started at his desk in the police department and let out a strange sound, almost as if he was in pain. Jill looked up sharply from the report she was reading. "Leon, you all right?" she asked, concerned at the look of total surprise and confusion on her colleague's face.

He raised one hand as if to cradle his head, then dropped it again and put it to his stomach. "I – don't know," he said faintly. "I – it's as if I'm suddenly hurting all over without hurting at all."

He looked no better than Jill, who was staring open-mouthed. To hear Leon say such a thing was – well, nothing she'd ever expected. While she was still grasping for words, he groaned and his hand flew up to his head. "Gods, can't you ever leave me alone?"

His eyes were desperate. Jill jumped up, really worried now. "Leon, you're alright?!"

He whimpered, pressed his eyes together and let out a moan. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Leon!"

The next moment, he'd pushed away her arms and was looking around in confusion. Jill stared. "Leon?" she asked carefully. He came to his wits again. His brow wrinkled angrily and he snarled.

"I'm so sick of it!"

"What?!" Jill yelled.

The blonde's head spun to her, his face torn by rage. "D! I'm sick of D! I'm sick of searching for him, I'm sick of running after him without a chance I'll ever catch him! And most of all, I'm sick of him talking in my head all the time!" he screamed and punched his desk, hard. "D'you hear me?! I'M SICK OF IT!"

And with that, he stormed out, leaving a confused and worried Jill behind, who suddenly got the feeling that she'd witnessed something really, really fatal.

* * *

The telephone was ringing somewhere half a continent away. Leon tapped the table impatiently, then got up and walked his room like a lion in a cage. He wanted to get this done. Done and forgotten, best for all time.

"Hello?" the sleepy voice of his aunt asked.

"It's me, Aunt Mary. Is Chris there?"

"Leon. Do you have any idea what time it is?" the sister of his mother growled, sounding everything but delighted at being woken in the middle of the night. "And what on earth makes you think I'll let you talk to Chris right now? He's got to go to school tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. Gotta talk to him though. Right now. Please, Aunt Mary." Leon didn't like the plea in his voice, but it soothed his aunt, and so he guessed it was okay. She went to his brother's bedroom, carefully waking the boy up. The elder heard him mumble sleepily before he got what his mother was talking about and ripped the telephone from her hands.

"Brother! Did you find him?"

The eager voice nearly broke Leon's heart and he swallowed hard. But there was no turning back now any more. Nope. Not with him. He could stick to his decision, he could do that.

"Nope, Chris, I didn't. And I won't," he said firmly. "Listen, buddy, I've thought it all over. I won't continue searching for him. I'm sorry. But I can't do it anymore."

"But – why?! You have to!" Chris cried out, sounding completely run over and on the verge of tears. "Please, brother, please! Find the Count again!"

Leon took a deep breath. He almost didn't recognise the frail voice that answered his brother as his own.

"Chris, I can't. I can't do it anymore. I've been to so many places, I've done so much, and still I didn't have any success, and I just can't go on like that anymore. I know I'll never catch up with him. I nearly got him, in London, in Budapest, in Berlin… but he never waited for me, didn't even leave any sign he'd been there. I can't do this. I'm going to loose my job, I'm going to loose everything if I keep on doing it."

He wanted to add something, but knew he couldn't add what he was really afraid of loosing if he continued to search for the Count. He was afraid to end like Howell had, the shadow of the Count hovering over his whole live, leaving no space for other things, for things he needed, for things that defined him. He couldn't just give himself up, not even for D.

"But – don't you like him?"

Chris sounded meek and kind of frightened, and Leon knew his brother understood what he just couldn't voice. Had enough training in hearing what no one else could hear, either.

"Chris, I do like the Count. I like him a lot. Far too much, I think. That's why I can't do this again. It's like – like I'm dying every time when I arrive and find out he's left again," Leon choked out. "Don't ask me to do this anymore, Chris. Please don't."

His younger brother was silent for a long time. "I know the Count likes you too," he said then and suddenly sounded many years older. "I just know that. He'll come back one day, I promise, brother."

The blonde angrily blinked away the tears that were suddenly gathering in his eyes. "Yeah, perhaps, lil'bro. Perhaps one day," he answered quietly, hung up and stared at the phone in his hand.

_Perhaps one day, Chris. Perhaps not. Well, at least we still have the two of us left._

* * *

"Count, what are you doing?" T-chan asked, completely nonplussed, when he entered the Count's chamber the morning after Dana had been born. A quick glance told him the child was fast asleep in the small cradle beside D's four-poster. He bent over it for a moment, enamoured by her. "Count, she's so beautiful!" he breathed.

"Yes, she indeed is, Tetsu. Would you bringing me breakfast, please? Where is grandfather?" D answered calmly, almost businesslike.

The totetsu stretched and looked at his master confused. "Count?"

The kami finished clipping his fingernails and looked at the result appreciatively. Then he turned to T-chan. "I think grandfather will want to leave the shop now that I have given birth to my child," he said.

"I do indeed," a voice announced from the door and Sofu D strode in, Dee and bag in his hand. He, too, stopped at the cradle. A small smile graced his face. Dee stretched and peeked over the rim.

"Hello Dana. I'm your brother," he told her earnestly. D stood up and walked over to them, kneeling down beside Dee.

"Yes, you are. Kind of," he whispered and hugged the child tightly. "Farewell, Dee. I shall look forward to the day we will meet again."

Sofu D cleared his throat. D looked up and got to his feet again. "Thank you for all your help, grandfather," he said.

The eldest D nodded and searched his grandson's face. "You still intend to move to Japan, I assume?"

D bowed his head. "I do, grandfather."

"Very well. I have made a few inquiries. Leon Orcot has stopped searching for you." He scrutinized D's face. "Are this good news? In case you have not changed your mind about the detective and your child…"

"I have not, grandfather," D cut in, placing a polite smile on his face. "Take good care of Dee and yourself."

"Take good care of the child and yourself, my grandson," Sofu D answered and tugged at Dee's hand. "Come, Dee. We will leave now."

They turned to go, Dee waving gleefully at D. Then Sofu D changed into Q-chan again and they were gone. D and T-chan stood and watched in silence. The totetsu cast a careful glance at his master, but D's expression betrayed nothing. He couldn't discern if he felt hurt by this cool goodbye.

Dana in her cradle moved and started to cry. The kami turned to her and took her out, soothing her gently. "Ssh, Dana, lovely, be quiet. I will feed you in a minute," he murmured and carried the child to his bed, where he sat down and offered his breast to her. She sucked hungrily, and T-chan felt peace settle in his master.

"I guess it's back to same procedure as every year, Count?" he inquired and sat down before him. He didn't even look up from his child when he answered.

"Yes, of course, T-chan. What else?"

The totetsu shrugged. "Just thought perhaps…" he mumbled and sighed deeply. "No, forget it, Count. I'll have breakfast ready in a minute."

"Very good." D smiled at him and turned his attention back to his daughter. The totetsu left, closing the door behind him.

D's now de-clawed fingers caressed Dana's cheek. His eyes were looking into the distance. "Now it's just you and me, Dana," he whispered. "Let's try to make the best out of it."

* * *

A/N: Tetsu's words "The same procedure as every year" are a reference to a filmlet called "Dinner for one". It's on youtube. If you're interested, have a look. It's funny ;-) www. youtube. com/ watch? v(equal sign)b1v4BYV-YvA


	8. Japan, Tokyo, about 2 years later

**Japan, Tokyo, about two years later**

"Dana! Behave, child!"

The pets snickered. D, in contrast, didn't feel like laughing. His little daughter was an angel most of the time – but if she'd set her mind on it, she could be a real hellion. Like today.

Upset he took the spoon and tried to clean the apple puree from her pretty dress at least scanty. The girl grimaced loathly and started to complain, wriggling in her little chair. "Dana! You're worse than your –"

The kami stopped dead, sighed and dropped the spoon again. His daughter quit complaining and looked at him with wide blue eyes. D had to turn his head away. He bit his lip.

T-chan glided down from the couch and went over to them, eyes sympathetic. "Let me take care of her, Count. C'mon, come to me, Dana-darling, huh?"

"Tetsu!" The small girl laughed and reached for the totetsu with her short arms. He carefully took her up and carried her over to the sofa, while D stayed where he was, gazing into nowhere and playing with the spoon absent-mindedly.

Father. Dana's father. Why couldn't he leave D alone at last? After all, it had been so long since Los Angeles, since Chris, Leon… since back then. The time D didn't want to think about, now less than ever. Leon had stopped searching for him, and the kami was glad for it, oh yeah, he was. He couldn't possibly explain to the detective that he'd become a father two years ago, in the night D'd fled from Berlin, now, could he? Leon wouldn't believe it anyway. He didn't know – he couldn't remember – the night Dana had been conceived…

Childish laughter snapped the kami out of his thoughts. He looked over to the sofa, where the reason for them was gleefully tussling with T-chan, her foul mood already gone again. How could he possibly forget Leon if he saw his face and eyes every day in the face and eyes of his own child? The older Dana got the more her resemblance to Leon showed. At first it had just been her eyes, blue with golden spots, D's heritage. But now, with nearly two years, 20 months, to be correct, her hair started to turn dark brown when before it had been the ebony-black colour of D's hair. Her skin, in contrast, got darker, lost the milky-white tone and reminded more of Leon's fair skin. And her face…

Well, Leon had never been an ugly man, luckily. Dana had undeniably inherited D's Asian looks, no doubts about that, like his almond-shaped eyes, but her face also showed clearly European features. Leon's beautiful, masculine face female soft and refined with D's Asian genes.

On some days, D hated to look at his own daughter's face. When he caught a glimpse of Leon in those features, it was like an accusation each time again. A reminder that someone else was there, that someone else should be here, taking care of Dana, too.

On those days, D was on the verge of grabbing Dana and taking her helter-skelter to America, of leaving her in front of Leon's door and going away. Simply forgetting that he'd ever given birth to a child. And then again, he wished that Leon would walk in that door, swirl Dana around like he'd done with Chris and ask what D had for tea. Like it had been with Chris. Chris, Leon and him. Chris, who didn't know he'd become an uncle. Leon, who didn't know he'd become a father. And D, who was hiding cowardly from what was right, from what he knew was right and what he didn't have the courage to do.

Shuko stretched in her head from the other room. "Brooding again, Count?" she inquired softly and nudged him. He sighed deeply.

"Leon could never approve of her. Never. He couldn't approve of the way she was conceived and even less of me keeping her a secret from him."

The dragon blinked slowly. "Why are you so sure about that, Count?" she asked.

"I think Leon would love her!" Junrei intervened from behind and beamed. "She's his daughter!"

Now Kanan felt like she had to add her two cents to the discussion, belligerent as always. "C'mon, tell us another!" she snorted disdainfully. "He's never taken any interest in us, why should he take one in Dana?"

"It's not that easy with us!" Junrei defended her second favourite human.

"Yes, Kanan," Shuko chimed in, with mischievously sparkling eyes. "Think, you belong to us! I can see why one wouldn't want you as his child, being difficult the way you are."

"Outrageous!" Kanan exploded and hissed at her laughing sisters.

Count D sighed quietly. Another thing he'd have to explain to Leon. That their biological child already had an elder sister. As if the fact that they even _had_ a child wouldn't suffice to sent the detective into raging fits.

Determined the kami stood and went over to the sofa to rescue T-chan from his ferocious daughter. With her on his arms he turned to Shuko, who was blinking impishly at him. Kanan and Junrei were quarrelling loudly in the background.

"Thanks for your concern, Shuko, but I think it's best the way it is. Let us leave Leon his innocence and his life without the worries and let us be happy that we don't have to endure him," he said firmly.

Turning, he missed the expression of knowing determination in Shuko's face. He was about to carry Dana to the bedroom to change her clothes when the door opened and the man named Taizu came inside. Quickly all pets save the normal ones vanished. D froze on the spot, pressing the girl to his chest protectively. At the beginning, Taizu had reminded him a lot of Leon. But by now, he had realised that the Japanese lacked a very important trait of what made Leon's character so adorable in spite of his manners. The man was cold as a fish, and as cruel.

Noticing D, he strode over and grinned, a nasty, unpleasant grin. "Hello Count. Hello little lady. What a coincidence. I was just wondering whether the Count had at last gotten tired of you and given you away," he said slyly and reached out to touch Dana's cheek with his finger.

D stopped his hand in time while his daughter squirmed and whimpered. "Your highness, I would be very grateful if you refrained from touching my daughter," he said icily. The grin became even meaner.

"Of course, Count. Who could deny you anything?"

"What do you want this time?" D demanded, ignoring what he had said. Hatred mixed with desire flared up in the other man's eyes.

"What I always want when I come here," he hissed through gritted teeth. D handed Dana to Tetsu and faced his opponent.

"I am not going to give it to you, no matter what you do," he said and folded his arms. The burning in Taizu's eyes was nearly unbearable, but D stood his ground.

"One day, I'll get you, Count, be sure of that!" he snarled, turned and left the shop, slamming the door behind him angrily.

D sighed deeply. The world was not kind today. Everything seemed to have set its mind on reminding him of Leon, even Taizu with his empty threats. Not that he would have more success than Leon had had with his.

Though if he really thought about it, Leon had gained a certain amount of success, considering all…

The kami shook his head angrily and shooed the thoughts away. He closed the front door and went to the back to change Dana's clothes. Leon had no place in this pet shop anymore. He was history, and D had to care for the here and now.

* * *

It was late evening when the door to the pet shop opened again. D looked up from his cup of tea and wrinkled his brow. The day had been strenuous enough. He wasn't sure he could deal with another customer right now. And god help him if Taizu had dared to come back…! D was not going to give in to his advances, if they could be called such. Giving himself to a human was out of the question. He'd done it once, and he was surely never going to do it again.

_But if Leon would walk in through that door…_

The kami firmly shut the treacherous voice up and rose to face the intruder. Then his face dissolved into pleased surprise. "Ten-chan!" he exclaimed and rushed forward to greet the nine-tailed fox who smiled brightly and bowed to the kami.

"Hi Count, long time no see, huh? Thought I'd stop by and see how you're doing, you and the little one."

D brightened even more. "Dana is quite well, thank you, Ten-chan. She is growing and learning."

"And becoming quite a bit of work just like Leon, I bet," Ten-chan laughed and sat down on the sofa. "Where's the rest?" His alert eyes caught the shadow that darkened the Count's face for a second, before he was his usual bright self. _Still missing the father, I see._

"They are all beside Dana's bed, I think," he answered. "One would think they'd have grown tired with watching her sleep long ago, but no, they still cannot seem to get enough of her. What have you been doing in the meantime? We haven't seen you since more than half a year."

The fox waved nonchalantly and grinned. "Oh, I've been up to no good as usual. Spent some time spying for one country on their neighbours, spent some more time on the wife of their president. Had a good time."

He grinned when D blushed, but was spared the lecture by Pon-chan's and Tetsu's arrival. The raccoon jumped into his arms. "Ten-chan!" she cried. "I missed you so!"

"I missed you, too, honey." He winked and shook hands with T-chan. "So, you been watching the shop okay, dude?"

Sharp teeth were bared in a grin. "You bet, dude. Though the Count won't let me eat this one nuisance. But one day I'll get'm, I'm sure."

"Now, Tetsu, I do not think Taizu would taste very good. Besides, I do not approve of him being in the shop, dead, alive or eaten," D reprimanded gently, but he smiled. Then he yawned and quickly hid it behind his hand. "I am sorry. The day was long," he murmured, but Ten-chan shook his head.

"No, Count, that's okay. You go and sleep, and we'll talk tomorrow. I'm not in a hurry," he assured the kami, who retreated thankfully and told them not to create too much chaos.

Once he had left, the pets secured the shop and went to T-chan's room, where they sat down to talk. "He's still chewing on Leon, isn't he?" Ten-chan asked and played with his braid. His friends nodded.

"Today it was very bad," Pon-chan confessed and looked worried. "The older Dana gets, the more she resembles Leon, looks and character alike. She reminds the Count of him all the time, and lately he's been quite down anyway. Taizu's still bothering him all the time and he hates him."

"I really wish he would let me eat him," Tetsu growled and shuffled on his pillow. "He's such a sick bastard. Though probably he'll really taste bad, they always do. But perhaps with a good sharp sauce…" Fox and raccoon giggled as the totetsu lost himself in the problems of cooking the obnoxious human.

"And Honlon? What's she saying about Leon?" Ten-chan continued while he watched Tetsu with amusement. His friend snapped out and looked at him questioningly for a moment before the question worked its way into his brain.

"Huh? Oh, she's not happy, of course. Even Shuko has started telling the Count he should tell Leon, but he's every bit as stubborn as that idiot is. If Dana inherits only half of their combined stubbornness, we should all prepare for much trouble," he answered.

Ten-chan's eyes glazed over thoughtfully. "So, isn't she," he said silently. "Well, well…"

Then he changed the subject and told them about the president's young frustrated wife.

* * *

"And there you go, another bell!"

Dana clapped her hands and laughed gleefully when Ten-chan produced another small silver bell from behind her ear. Honlon, watching, smiled quietly. She waited until her little sister was busy with her new toys before she inched closer to the nine-tailed fox, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking at the girl with affection.

"Ten-chan, have you been to America lately?" she asked and he turned to give her a knowing smirk.

"He's not searching for the Count anymore, if you wanna know that," he answered and leaned back onto his arms. "A shame if you ask me, but what could I do? It's not like he'd remember me, having only seen me once, and then he was busy with rescuing the Count and the burning house."

"Stupid idiots!" the dragon snorted and Ten-chan laughed at Kanan's anger.

"Well, they're a good match when it comes to stubbornness. As you and Shuko are," he teased her, but her sister silenced her with a look.

"We are aware of that unfortunate trait," she said friendly. "However, Kanan and I have reached the conclusion that this situation is intolerable."

Ten-chan straightened again and favoured them with a surprised look. "You two have come to a conclusion?" he wanted to make sure. "Like in, you do actually share one opinion?"

"As if all we did was quarrelling!" Kanan spat and glared. The fox wisely preferred not to answer that one. Shuko continued.

"As strange as it might sound, we do actually think something has to change," she said and shot a careful glance at Junrei, but the girl-dragon was busy watching her little sister with an enrapt smile. "Of course, we are not able to change Leon's decision ourselves, or the Count's. But…"

"But you can give them a good reason to think about it," Ten-chan finished with mischievously blazing eyes. "I understand. Yet, what can I do to help you?"

To his surprise, it was Kanan who explained. "We are children of our respective fathers and mother, and as such, we do have some connection to them, depending on how strong their feelings were while they were raising us," she said and looked at Junrei, too. "This means, while Junrei's connection isn't very strong, Shuko's and mine are actually quite good, but unfortunately not strong enough to send messages through them."

"I see. A catalyst is needed." The nine-tailed fox swished his tails. "But as you cannot leave the shop and the Count would be suspicious…"

"You can come and go as you please," Shuko cut in. "The Count would not think to ask you about your whereabouts or your plans."

Ten-chan bowed deeply. "It is my honour to serve you, mistresses," he said gallantly. "Whatever you wish to have delivered to Leon, I will make sure he receives it."

"I hope so," Kanan growled and handed him a small flower, wondrously fresh though she'd apparently kept it behind her ear for quite some time. "This should do. I've been keeping it since weeks, for _someone_ wasn't willing to do it."

She shot a nasty glance at Shuko who just smiled secretly. "Kanan, you know very well that I could not use the connection properly, even if I had a catalyst," she said and bowed to Ten-chan. "Thank you, Ten-chan. We appreciate your help greatly."

The nine-tailed fox smirked. "Oh, do not thank me, Shuko-san." He turned the little flower in his fingers. "Everything I can do to help the Count is a pleasure for me."

* * *

"Dammit, can't you watch out where you're going?!"

Leon swore loudly and tried to get his shopping together again. The old man that had run into him got down on his knees and started to pick up random milk cartons, frozen pizza and noodle packs. "I am so terribly sorry, young mister!" he stammered and blinked at the blonde short-sighted. "I was lost in thought, I am so sorry!"

"Yeah, no harm done," the detective grumbled and pulled the man to his feet again. He couldn't watch the fragile guy crawl around on the pavement. "Let me get that up, it's mine anyway."

The man smiled at him and Leon noticed that he was Chinese. Well, not surprising, he was just outside Chinatown.

"You are truly a very kind young man," his new friend praised him and folded his hands demurely in front of his body. Then he blinked, took a closer look at the blonde and smiled even brighter. "Say, aren't you the brave young detective that was so kind to visit our dearest Count D every day?"

Leon rose so quickly his head spun for a second. He cursed, trying to keep all his shopping on his arms without dropping some of it. The old man bowed. "Yes, of course you are. Please forgive me, dear Detective."

The blonde paled at the familiar addressing. "I'm not your dear detective!" he bellowed, startling the old man and regretting it instantly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to –"

"Oh, but my young friend, you do not have to excuse!" the Chinese cut in and patted his arm. Leon stared. "I am sure you didn't mean to be rude. Here, let me give you something."

He fumbled around in his pocket and then produced a small flower, petals as blue as Leon's eyes. The blonde opened his mouth to protest, but the old man was faster. He carefully placed the little flower in his breast pocket and smiled at Leon. "There you go. A forget-me-not for you. May it bring you happy memories!"

With that, he vanished into the crowd again, leaving Leon to continue his way home confused and shaking his head.


	9. Like in a Dream

Six reviews! You render me speechless, guys... Thank you so much! And Atenea, don't worry, I understand you perfectly :-) What's your native language, if I may ask?

Take this chapter as a little thank-you for all those sweet reviews :-) Have fun!

**Like in a Dream**

_Black hair. Black hair so soft it was almost unbelievable. But still, it was there, between his fingers, slipping through them. _

_The lashes also were black, and long, and beautiful. Whoever this was above Leon, she had closed her eyes in bliss, red lips parted with a silent moan. It was driving him crazy, the feeling of this slender body against his, so pliable, so willing, so soft, so incredible…_

_Leon wanted to cry out her name, but he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was. The lashes raised a little, and he forgot the burning in his body for a moment, tensing up in anticipation. He knew he had to see her eyes – knew if he saw them, he would be able to remember._

_But they dropped again, and she sat down on him slowly, making colours dance in front of his eyes. He groaned and grabbed her hips, helping her to grind down on him. His head was spinning, and he distinctly remembered that he was not quite in shape to be doing this – to be any good in bed, but why, he didn't know, though he assumed it had something to do with too much alcohol. It always had to do with too much alcohol._

_Not that it had much effect right now. Gods, how had she managed to get him this hot?_

_Another slide down made him abandon all thought and moan with pleasure. Well, that surely answered the question. And who was he to question a good fuck anyway?_

_She was moving again, up and down, up and down, increasing her speed as her breathing sped up, too, and Leon grabbed her hips, helped her, causing her to moan as well, until light blazed behind his closed eyelids and he fell into it, fell down, fell away…_

_Abruptly the scene changed. Leon was standing in the pet shop. He shook his head in confusion and took another look. But there was no mistaking the scene. This was the pet shop as he knew it. And suddenly he knew it was not himself who was looking at it, but someone else. He was seeing the shop through the eyes of someone else, and whoever it was, he or she was turning her head so he could take in more of it. There was the sofa he'd used to sit on, there was D's chair and there…_

… _there was D himself, standing in front of a cage, regarding a little bird. No, pointing to it. But why was he…?_

_Then the kami turned. Leon flinched, but he didn't see him, didn't even look in his direction. Then he saw what was sitting on his arm and his jaw dropped. D was holding a child. A kid. _

_He only got the slightest glance at them before whoever it was whose body he was sharing turned away. A voice echoed through his body, low and deep and commanding. _

"_Tokyo, Leon. We're in Japan. Come to us. Come back to the shop. We need you. There is something you need to know. Don't give up searching. We need you. We need you…"_

The blonde bolted upright in his bed, panting heavily. He clutched his chest, felt his heart beating double-time. Gods, what had that been?! His head was still spinning, and his heart ached with an indefinable feeling – need, pain, loss…

He taxed his brain, but he couldn't remember what his dream had been about. Only one thing had stuck: Tokyo, Japan. He had to go to Japan, at once. It was important. He just had to.

A hand sneaked around his chest and another head rose from the pillow. "Leon, what's the matter?" a sleepy voice asked. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, but the feeling of urgency wouldn't go away. "Did you have another nightmare?"

The blonde turned his head and looked into brown concerned eyes. He managed a smile. "No, Sandy, I'm alright. It was just – a dream. Not a nightmare. A dream."

His friend sat up and studied his face closely. "About what?"

He shrugged. "I can't remember," he answered and pushed the covers off, propping his elbows onto his knees. A deep sigh heaved up his chest. Sandra stroked his back.

"Leon, tell me. I want to help," she said silently. He looked to her and smiled again.

"Thanks, Sandy, but it's – you know what's the matter with me…"

His voice trailed off.

"It's always him, eh?"

Leon chuckled hearing her voice. "You know, most women would be pissed when the man they're in bed with starts dreaming about someone else," he pointed out. Sandra shrugged.

"I'm not most women. And it's not as if he presented any real competition to me, now, does he?"

"No, he doesn't," Leon said silently, more to himself than to the woman. She brushed a strand of hair away from his face and studied it. He slowly looked up into her eyes. "Sandy, I've gotta go. I've gotta go to Japan."

She smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Fine with me, darling. But do it tomorrow, okay? I need some sleep."

Leon grinned and settled back into the bed. "You're great, do you know that?"

"Yeah, I do. Now shut up and get back to sleep," Sandra answered and comfortably snuggled into his arms. A few seconds later they were asleep again.

* * *

The airport was crowded as usual. Leon scanned the big display panels and found his flight almost immediately. Growling, he fumbled his cell phone out of his pocket. Well, he'd waited long enough. It was time to call his brother.

He was lucky and Chris picked up the receiver. "Yes?"

"Hi Chris, it's me," Leon said and his brother squealed with joy.

"Brother! What's up?"

How was he supposed to tell the kid?

"Listen, Chris, there's a change of plans. I know it's kinda short, but I really need to go to Japan."

He'd always thought straight was the best way to go. Chris was quiet for a moment, apparently stunned. "Why? What's in Japan? Have you got to work there, brother?"

"No, actually – I had a dream," Leon admitted, feeling like an idiot for telling his little brother such stuff. But Chris was no usual kid, especially not after having spent so much time with D.

"What did you dream?" he simply asked and now the elder blushed.

"It was – about the Count. And I thought, well, maybe there's a chance – perhaps I should have a look at that. Just to be sure."

"Really?"

His brother sounded positively breathless with joy. Leon sighed and hunched his shoulders. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm serious. But don't tell your aunt and uncle about it, okay? I'm sure they'd call me crazy again, and I don't wanna end up in some white jacket, understood, buddy?"

"Course, what do you think I am, stupid?" Chris sounded really insulted, so Leon hurried to soothe him again.

"No, of course you're not. You're my brother, you can't be stupid."

Chris just giggled at that. "But you wanted to come visit us, too. Will you come? Please? You haven't been here for so long, I wanna see you again," he pleaded then and the elder sighed again.

"Yeah, Chris, I promise, I will come visit you. Of course."

Leon looked at the table and the clock. "Listen, buddy, I've gotta go, my flight's going to leave soon," he cut off Chris' babbling.

"Is the Count in Japan?"

His kid brother's distant voice was both hopeful and hesitant. Since Leon had decided to forget about D two years ago, they had never talked about Leon searching for the Count again. Occasionally, when the blonde felt the younger one needed to talk about the shop, he had conceded. But that one subject had never been brought up again.

Now he sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead. "I don't know, Chris. I can't even tell you why I am going." He laughed without mirth. "I just know I have to. But don't tell your aunt and uncle, okay?"

"I swear." Chris' voice was really hopeful. Leon could feel the question hovering behind the words. _And you promise you are going to find the Count again._

He said goodbye and put his cell phone away, feeling the weight on his heart he had stubbornly ignored for the last two years. Find the Count again. Yeah, he wanted to do just that. He just wasn't sure if D wanted to be found again.

* * *

They arrived in Tokyo in the middle of the pouring rain. Leon cursed, ducked into his jacket and ran to the taxis standing outside the airport. He flopped down into the backseat, watched by the taxi's driver, a young Japanese roughly his own age with bright intelligent eyes. Leon just hoped he spoke English.

"Where to?" the guy asked and answered his silent prayer. The blonde hesitated.

"Uh, to be honest, I don't really know," he confessed, blushing slightly. "Do you have a Chinatown around here?"

That got him a strange look. "Man, this is Tokyo! We have everything you want," the taxi driver drawled and quickly drove into a space in the traffic. "What do you want there, anyway?" he asked, curious and obviously happy to try his English on someone. Leon didn't mind, as long as the guy was able to help him.

"I'm looking for a friend of mine. He runs a business. A pet shop. He's Chinese," he said and leaned back into the seat.

The driver glanced at him in the rear mirror. "A pet shop, huh? Well, I guess they've got some pet shops in Chinatown, but there's one that's become pretty famous during the last year. It's run by a certain Count D."

In spite of himself, Leon felt his heart leap in his chest. He swallowed hard. "You're sure?" he croaked.

"Yeah, pretty sure. Drove two ladies last week, and man, they were absolutely crazy about that guy!" The young man seemed to be impressed by D's luck with the women. Leon felt a pang.

"Yeah, he's pretty good with women," he admitted and cursed himself for the sudden tight feeling in his throat.

The driver chuckled. "Also with the men, as one hears," he said casually, but sent a glance at his passenger that very clearly told what he was thinking. Leon growled.

"You keep your eyes on the road, buddy, and don't look at me that way."

The grin got wider, but the young man shrugged and concentrated on the traffic again. "Well, if not you, it's another one. I heard he has one of the real big ones chasing his ass."

"Yeah, that surely sounds like D," Leon said dryly, thinking of the godfather on that Christmas evening. "He's still here?" he added then, fear crushing down on him like cold water. He had chased D through so many cities, had been so close sometimes, but still, every time he arrived somewhere, it was only to find out D was already gone again or that he had never been there at all. And this time, it was _important_ that he really found D. He just _knew_ it.

"Has been here since more than a year, why should he have left since last week?" the taxi driver distracted him again. He missed the sad smile on the American's face. Oh, Leon could have told him stories about D and leaving in the blink of an eye.

Instead, he grabbed the back of the front passenger seat. "Go on, boy, drive. Bring me to that pet shop."

* * *

It was, without a doubt, the pet shop. Unmistakably, recognizably the pet shop. Count D's pet shop.

Leon stumbled out of the car, giving the driver far too much money, but not caring for it, and neither caring for the knowing smirk on the guy's face. He wouldn't be able to understand in the least what Leon was feeling right now. And if he was honest, he himself couldn't understand it either. There was so much that wanted to break free – relief, overwhelming joy, triumph that he at last had caught up with the elusive Count, but also fear and a really bad feeling in his guts. His instincts were telling him that if he stepped inside that familiar door, what he could find might not be what he wanted to know.

The blonde took a deep breath and steadied himself. Climbed down the stairs, one step after the other. Placed his hand on the wooden door he knew so well, and pushed open.

He was immediately surrounded by the also familiar scent of incense, and it made him chuckle a little. Seemed at least that hadn't changed, D was still using that strangely sweet smelling stuff.

Then a movement caught his eye, and he had a sudden flashback to another time, another country, a figure like the one before him emerging from behind a rich curtain, silk softly swishing around an incredibly beautiful body, whispering in the shop's silence not-quite-silence…

But the words were different from what the first words back then had been.

"Detective! What – how did you find me?" D gasped, staring at him as if he was seeing a ghost, mismatched eyes wide with horror. Leon considered his options. He could rush forward and hit D – would serve the bastard right, what had he been _thinking_, doing that to Chris and him? – or he could rush forward and embrace the guy, or he could…

Firmly he put a stop to his thoughts. Looked around, tried to find out what he could say, and came up with an, "Don't tell me you don't have tea prepared. I really need a cup right now. It's fucking raining outside."

* * *

A/N: A little quiz starting here: who can guess to which song I was listenig while writing the last part of this? ;-)


	10. Unexpected Turns

Girls, are you serious?! SEVEN reviews?! Wow. I honestly don't know what to say. Thank you so much! And Goddess, I'm glad you like Dana. She's a sweetie, ain't she? ;-) Kayi, how many times do I have to tell you that no review's crappy? -smiles-

Have fun with the next one!

**Unexpected Turns**

"So, what leads you to Japan?" D inquired, sitting on his usual chair with all his usual nonchalance. But Leon could tell that he was shifting uncomfortably in his mind. He leaned back, feeling uneasy himself. This wasn't quite going like he'd imagined their reunion. If he had ever allowed himself to think of how it would be, in those first few months before he'd decided to kick D out of his thoughts, only to find out the Chinese was as persistent as he was infuriating.

"Nothing in particular. Just had a feeling you might be here," he answered and shrugged, as if it was nothing special for him to fly around half the world on the mere suspicion that D might be somewhere. Which it wasn't, but D didn't have to know that.

"Oh. Well, it seems your intuition was right, then," D murmured and tried to make a little smile appear on his face. He failed miserably and hastily shoved a cup in front of Leon to distract him. "More tea, Detective?"

"Yeah, could do with some," the blonde murmured and looked around. There were not as much pets in here as he remembered. That stupid sheep-tiger was lurking in front of a curtain he didn't remember either and glaring at him fiendishly, and Pon-chan was sitting on his lap, of course. A few birds in cages hung from the ceiling, but otherwise the shop was empty. Strange.

D poured the tea while he tried to think of a subject, of something he could talk to Leon about, something that didn't have anything to do with what had happened in the last two years. But he found that his mind was completely blank and all he could actually think about was Dana sleeping in her bed behind the curtain T-chan was guarding, hoping that the girl wouldn't wake until Leon had left again.

"Chris misses you, you know," the blonde broke the silence and cleared his throat.

"Oh. I am very sorry to hear that," D mumbled politely and managed to smile a little bit. "I have to admit that I am missing him a little bit, too. He was a nice kid, much in contrast to his elder brother."

Leon glared. "Perhaps I'd've been nicer if you hadn't set your mind on killing people with your damn pets," he shot back. D allowed himself to relax a little bit. This was familiar territory.

"I am what I am, Detective. Your species has done nothing than pollute the earth and maltreat the other species since you started to walk."

They were halfway into a spirited debate when suddenly a small sound made the Count freeze. Leon looked at his face, astonished at the expression in there. He looked as if something he'd feared the whole time had happened at last, as if he'd known it would happen but hoped all the same it wouldn't.

The blonde stopped thinking about D's strange expression when the small sound got louder and turned into what was very recognisably a baby's cry. He stared at the Chinese open-mouthed.

"Please excuse me for a moment, Detective," he murmured politely, not meeting Leon's eyes, and stood, walking over to that curtain Leon couldn't remember and disappearing behind it. The cries stopped and he heard him talking softly to whatever was there in Chinese.

Then he appeared again, holding a small kid in his arms, about one or two years old. Leon wasn't good at figuring such things out, but he was pretty sure the kid was a little girl. Her skin was almost as milk-white as D's was, her eyes were almond-shaped and her hair was only a tick lighter than D's was. Her face showed Asian features, mixed with European hints.

D crossed the room and sat down again in his chair, not caring that Leon was staring. It almost seemed as if he was avoiding his eyes. T-chan followed on his heels and sat down beside his chair, still glaring at the blonde.

"What – who…" Leon cleared his throat. "What is this child doing here?" he demanded at last.

D smiled down at the kid who hid her head shyly in his shoulder and only glanced at the stranger sitting there on the couch. "She's living here, of course," he answered calmly. If possible, Leon's eyes went even wider.

"Why the fuck is a small child living with you?" he nearly screamed. D shot him an angry look.

"Mind your language, at least in front of a child!" he scolded. Leon didn't care.

"Who is she?!"

Now the scowl on the beautiful face was replaced by that damn smirk Leon hated so much. "Why, my dear Detective, if she's living with me, one would usually assume that she is my child," he answered sweetly.

"Your…" Leon gaped. Then his face twitched and he forced a grin onto it. "Okay, you got me. Nice joke, D. So, whose kid is she?"

The glare he got could've frozen the desert. "As I told you, she is my daughter," D said icily and Leon exploded.

"C'mon, you can't expect me to believe that! You're a damn god or spirit or whatever, you're sworn to erase humanity! You can't tell me you got yourself a wife and a kid!"

If possible, the glare got even frostier. "I am not telling you anything, Detective. But the truth, whether you like it or not, is that this girl is my daughter."

The girl seemed to sense the tension between the two men. She snuggled closer to D and made a small sound. He turned his head to look down at her, his features growing warm and tender. He whispered some Chinese words to her and she calmed down again. Leon watched, still dumbfounded.

Count D had a kid. This had to be a dream.

"Where's her mother, then?"

The question came unbidden and unexpected. D froze for a moment and tore his gaze away from the child in his lap. "Dana's other – parent – does not live here," he answered carefully. Leon was too busy wrapping his mind around it to notice the lack of the actual word mother.

"Her name's Dana? That's – nice." Somehow he was going on auto-pilot. "What does is mean? I mean, does it mean anything at all?" he added hastily.

D's brow wrinkled, then cleared again. "It has many different meanings in various languages. I prefer the Persian meaning, which is wise or bright."

"Uh, that's – nice."

Another awkward silence. The girl put her arms around D's throat, wanting to get his attention now that she was waking up more.

"So, you got yourself a kid." It wasn't quite a question, but it wasn't quite a statement either.

D bowed his head in affirmation. "It seems I did, Detective."

"And – what made you do that? I mean, what made you get a child with a human woman? You're not kidding me, are you? She really is your kid."

"I assure you that she is, Detective. Really, one would think she resembles me at least a little bit."

From his voice Leon could tell that the Count was getting pissed. He didn't want to start a fight right now, he didn't feel in shape for that, so he withdrew. "Yeah, sorry. I'm not good at telling this. And honestly, I never expected you to have a child. I mean, an actual child, with someone else, not the kind of child your species usually has."

He could've misheard, but he thought he heard D mutter something under his breath, and it sounded like "Neither did I."

But then the moment was gone and D was smiling his bright fake smile at him. "How long will you be staying in Japan, Detective?"

Leon cleared his throat and tried not to stare at the kid, who was tugging at D's ebony-black hair. He didn't seem to mind, but he was probably used to it. It was just – he'd never seen anybody so careless with the Count. No one he knew of would even dare.

Distracted by watching the kid, he answered. "Uh, don't know yet. Probably about one week. I only have three weeks vacation and I wanted to visit Chris in Long Island, too."

For some unknown reason, that made D's smile even brighter. As if he was relieved to hear that Leon wouldn't stay for long. "Do you already have a hotel to stay at? I know some pretty good ones here, I could get you a room."

"Uh, thanks, that would actually be nice. It was kind of – unplanned."

D's smirk told him that he'd actually thought nothing else and Leon bristled at the insinuation. But his attention was distracted by the little girl, who seemed to be not too happy that no one was paying her any attention. Well, that just figured if she was D's daughter.

She chose a sure way to get D's attention by knocking over his cup of tea. The Count's pretty face got slightly strained. "Dana!"

The name was followed by a couple of Chinese words Leon didn't understand, but he could guess their meaning pretty well. God, D didn't only dress like a girl, now he was acting like a mother! Why had he felt like he really needed to find the guy, again?

The girl's face contorted and she started to cry. D sighed deeply, rocking her a little to calm her down. The he sniffed and looked even more displeased. "Please excuse me for a moment, Detective, I am afraid I have to change her," he said politely and got up, the still crying kid on his arm.

"Sure," Leon replied.

Then he thought better of it and stood quickly, too, following D into the back of the shop, even though Tetsu grabbed his leg and tried to stop him. But the blonde was determined and just kept on walking, taking the totetsu with him. D was carrying the child and too busy to notice. He only realised Leon had followed him when he entered his bedroom and the blonde quickly put out a hand to keep the door from closing. His brow wrinkled.

"Detective, what are you doing here?" he snapped.

"What do you want, I know about the ship anyway. Now don't fuss around and take care of the kid," the blonde gave back coolly. D looked not happy, but then a pull at his hair made him remember what he had wanted to do.

"Do not touch anything!" he warned and stepped aside to let Leon in, not paying him anymore attention while he went to a changing table and started to undress the squirming kid.

Leon wandered around, looking at the bedroom with wide eyes. He had imagined a lot, but still, it was strange, seeing D's bedroom. There was a really, really big four-poster bed in here, the curtains drawn back to reveal luxurious silken sheets and cushions. Right beside the bed stood a cradle, in which, no doubt, the baby slept. It was made of some kind of dark wood that looked very expensive and there were gauzy curtains around it, too, the same soft cream colour as the curtains of D's bed.

Then there was a great wardrobe and a dressing table, all looking expensive, too. The room was dimly lit, but Leon couldn't see any lamps. His gaze wandered around and stayed on the pictures, mostly showing landscapes he guessed were from China, and animals, of course, fantastic and real alike. Or perhaps they were all real. This was D's shop, after all.

Then his gaze wandered back to the Chinese, talking to the girl quietly while changing her diapers. She had stopped complaining, but was still pouting. Leon watched the slender hands, obviously used to their task, because it didn't look like D was concentrating too hard on it.

The blonde looked harder. He stared until D noticed and turned around half to look at him. Leon pointed. "You clipped your nails," he said baffled. D blushed and bit his lip.

"Changes usually lead to other changes as well," he said arrogantly. Leon raised an eyebrow.

"You finally had to admit they're too sharp," he concluded. The kami glared while buttoning up Dana's Chinese dress.

"Didn't you want to find a hotel, Detective?" he asked sharply. The blonde grinned lopsidedly.

"Oh, yeah, right. What time is it?"

"Five minutes to four," D answered and took the girl up. She instantly grabbed his hair again. Leon marvelled at D's calm. If someone pulled at his hair this hard, he would have winced at least. More likely screamed.

"I will give you a few addresses you can go to. If you tell them you know me, I am sure they will have a room for you." D strode out of the bedroom, Leon following close.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"It is no inconvenience," D answered, but the blonde got the feeling the kami wished nothing more than to have him out of the shop. Thus the help.

Usually he would have protested, but today he felt too freaked out to object. So he took his farewell and went to the hotels, feeling that D was standing half-hidden behind the door with his kid on his arms, watching him go.

* * *

Unaware of his surroundings, Leon strolled into the direction D had sent him, to his hotel. He was thinking very hard. Okay, so he'd found D at last. He hadn't exactly expected the reunion to be very happy. But he hadn't expected either that D would've become a father.

How could it even be real? This was D, for god's sake! He hated humans. His family was sworn to erase humanity. But he got himself a kid with a human.

This had to be a dream.

Leon stopped in front of a shop window and gazed inside without really seeing anything. He'd seen a lot of things he never thought existed since he'd first walked into that pet shop. And he prided himself with being able to adjust if hard facts proved him wrong. Problem was, whatever he might have expected to find in D's shop, it was surely not a human kid. Half-human kid. Whatever.

Could it be that D had liked caring for Chris so much that he had wanted a child himself?

Leon almost snorted out loud. Yeah, Orcot, tell me 'nother. Sure. D leaving aside his revenge to have a baby with a human. Not likely to happen. If he'd wanted a child, he could've found grandpa and taken his 'son-father' to fuss over.

Something in the shop caught his eye. Well, the kid was there. Usually when someone got a kid, they got presents. It was a little bit late, Dana had been born quite a few months ago, but he suspected no one had given D any present when she was born. Grandpa surely not.

The blonde stepped inside the shop and looked around, but he quickly found what he'd been searching for. A little three-coloured plush cat was sitting on a shelf, looking at Leon with green glass eyes.

So what if D had a pet shop and she could cuddle pets anytime she wanted too? Leon would bet that she had not one plushie. And besides, he didn't know what else to give to a small kid.

He blushed when he took the toy from the shelf, but there was no reason why he shouldn't buy a toy, now, was there? It was not like this was for his own child, it was just a present for the kid of a – well, he supposed he could call D some kind of friend. Even if their friendship had been the strangest he'd ever heard of.

Standing at the counter waiting to pay, his eyes fell on the displayed jewellery. There was a chain in there, with a slender silver cat as a pendant. Her tail was draped neatly around her feet, she looked mysterious and knowing. And her eyes were violet.

"This one?"

The voice of the shop girl snapped Leon out of his fascination. He heaved a sigh of relief that she spoke English and smiled at her, which caused her to blush. Nice.

"Yeah, that one, and that chain, please."

Was he out of his mind? He'd wanted to buy a present for Dana and not for D, and now he was buying that friggin' chain for the guy?! Who even knew if he'd like it?

But the cat's amethyst eyes reminded him so much of D that he said nothing when the girl put the chain in a little box and handed him both plush cat and chain. He said nothing when he saw how much it cost and was just glad he'd brought his cash card.

Out on the street again the blonde took a deep breath and shook his head unbelievingly. Damn. Not 24 hours since he'd seen D again and he was spending more money on him than on his actual girlfriend.

Which reminded him that he had to call Sandra and tell her he'd arrived. Leon set out to his hotel again and shoved aside any unpleasant thoughts. If D didn't like the chain, he could still give it to Sandy. She liked cats, too.

* * *

D didn't have to turn around to know who had just entered. No one else but Leon filled the shop with that special presence. No one else could. His heart clenched at the thought, but he turned round and smiled brightly at the detective, standing in the door uncertainly.

"Good morning, Detective," he said and did his best to appear happy. The blonde seemed to be quite irritated.

"You're not angry I'm turning up so early?" he asked incredulously.

D gritted his teeth and smiled. "No, Detective, why should I? In fact, I have been awake since two hours," he answered sweetly and cursed his visitor to hell. Leon couldn't know it was his fault, but it still was.

"Since when do you stand up before eleven o'clock?"

Now D snapped all the same. "Since I have a twenty-months-old daughter who wishes to play at half past seven in the morning!" he hissed and sat down the teapot hard.

The detective looked both like trying to hide a grin and scared. "Uh-oh," he mumbled, but D's attention was caught by something he held half-hidden behind his back. Noticing that the kami had caught sight of it, the blonde produced a parcel, wrapped in colourful paper. D stared at him, waiting for an explanation. This was surely not something to eat.

Leon fiddled with the present. "I – I've got something for – your child," he said uncertainly. D flinched, heart beating fast.

"What – why?" he demanded sharply. The blonde's cheeks became red.

"Because usually kids get presents when they're born!" he snapped.

The kami willed his heart to slow down. It was just Leon doing what humans did. There was no other reason than that he wanted to follow the customs of his race, even if it was rather surprising that he would do so. "I am sorry, Detective. Thank you," he said calmly, though his heart was still doing quite some acrobatics in his chest.

The blonde blinked at him, confused by his sudden change. D waved in the direction of his daughter. "Do you want to give it to her yourself or do you prefer me doing that?" he asked in that ironic voice he knew Leon hated.

Predictably the human blushed even more, scowled and went over to kneel beside Dana. She looked up at him, unsure and shy, and D knew she considered moving away from the stranger. Dana wasn't used to people. She only ever saw the pets and D, and sometimes a customer, but then T-chan quickly made sure she vanished. There was no need for them to know of the child. That Taizu had once caught D playing with her had been a most unlucky event.

But Dana was also curious. When Leon offered the wrapped present to her, she took it nearly without hesitation and examined it carefully. Then she extended her hand to D, who stood a few feet away, watching and not being sure how to feel.

"Bàbà, open up!" she demanded in Chinese. D sighed, went over and knelt down, too. He pulled one of the strings. The paper fell apart to reveal a plush cat.

The kami just couldn't help it. His lips quirked. "A plush pet, Detective? If I remember right, this is a pet shop. There are plenty of real cats in here and there is no need to give Dana a plush one."

Leon blushed furiously and growled. "Da… you, D, I just wanted to give her a present," he snapped. "If you don't like it, fine, I'll bring it back!"

He reached for the plushie, but Dana stopped him. "Cat!" she squealed and pressed it to her body. "Bàbà, cat!"

Leon's scowl vanished and he grinned at D triumphantly. "Well, seems as if she likes it," he rejoiced. The kami sighed exasperated, angry for no real reason.

"Dana, thank the Detective," he ordered curtly. She chewed her lip, unsure. His anger melted. "Thank you, Detective," he said clearly and the girl smiled.

"Thank you," she echoed proudly.

Leon couldn't help it, he ruffled her hair affectionately. "You're welcome, missy."

He got up with a groan, leaving Dana to show her present to T-chan, who sniffed it and wrinkled his nose. D smiled and then he noticed something and his face went blank. "Oh," he uttered softly.

The blonde looked at him questioningly. "What is it?"

The kami tried to pull himself together. "You gave her a three-coloured cat," he said.

Leon shrugged. "Yeah, so I did. Your point?"

D took a deep breath. "Three-coloured cats are supposed to bring luck and offer protection," he explained as calmly as he could manage. Something tugged at his heart when Leon grinned lopsidedly.

"Didn't know about that, but sounds fine to me. Anyway, she likes it, that's important."

"Yes," D agreed and set the table out with fingers that shook a little.

Leon watched him for a while and then cleared his throat. "Uh – D – I got something for you, too," he mumbled then. The kami stopped dead, leaving hand and teacup hanging over the table. Leon took his chance to push a little box under his nose. "Here. Go on, open it up."

Whoa, he hadn't known that D could get any paler than he usually was. Fuck, the guy looked like he was about to faint, and his fingers were actually shaking when he put the clinking cup down and opened the box.

At the sight of the little silver cat in the box D's eyes went wide. He touched her violet eyes with trembling fingertips, breath stopping in his throat. He felt like someone had punched him in the stomach and knocked every tiny bit of air from his lungs.

"D?"

Leon was watching him closely. His all-too-open face showed his confusion and he was probably wondering if this had been a good present.

The kami took a quivering breath and tried to steady himself. "You – shouldn't have, Detective. This must have cost a fortune."

The blonde shrugged, eyes never leaving D's face. "You probably didn't get any presents for her birth either. Bet your grandpa wasn't too happy 'bout her."

"Oh. No, grandfather was – quite calm. He was not happy, of course not, but he was – able to accept given facts."

Leon noticed the pause, but didn't comment. He could just imagine Q-chan's reaction. If how the batbunny had always reacted to him just visiting D was any indication, D was lucky the kid had survived.

Which made him think of something else. He cleared his throat.

"D? Dana's mom… she wasn't killed by Q-chan, was she?" he asked carefully. D, who'd seemed pretty shaken just a moment before, stared at him with wide-eyed astonishment.

"Why should my grandfather kill Dana's other parent?" he asked nonplussed, and then he sniffed. "Whatever you may think about my grandfather and my family, they are not heartless. They can't make a human responsible for something I have messed up."

"Well, usually it takes two to tango," Leon mumbled and couldn't suppress a dirty grin. He was rewarded with a glare. Better. Much better. Now this was familiar territory.

They launched into a spirited debate at once, D raging on about how Leon should behave and the blonde defending himself. It felt great. For the first time in two years, Leon was happy again, and if the look on D's face was any indication, he was enjoying himself thoroughly, too. When the blonde finally left, angrily stomping from the shop to find someplace where he could get some food that was not cake, he was almost deliriously happy. This was what he had looked for all the time. Kid or no kid, D was still the same, and it felt great.

* * *

When the door closed behind Leon, D dropped his fists and sighed deeply. Leon was just the same. He hadn't changed at all in the last two years. D couldn't exactly say the same about himself. Even the little fight they'd just had had left him completely confused and exhausted. He felt like coiling up in bed, pulling the covers over his head and sleeping until this was over.

But unfortunately he couldn't just leave everything until he felt better again. For example, he should have fed Dana already half an hour ago. Now she would be hungry and tired all at once, and it would be difficult to feed her.

The kami sighed again. Nothing but problems. Why did Leon have to turn up here anyway? Why could he not leave D his peace?

He quickly prepared food and fetched Dana from a wild game including some pillows, Pon-chan and the new plush cat, fed her and then laid her down for a midday nap in the cradle in the front room. He preferred to have her somewhere near. So far she had always kept quiet when customers appeared. Why in all heavens did she have to wake up yesterday of all days?

The answer to this was obvious, though D didn't like it at all. The danger of the child waking up was considerably reduced by the fact that he never invited customers to tea any more. He didn't sell his pets in the front room anymore, too. Everything went on in the back of the shop, where Dana was out of reach. And if he had to use the front room, there was a door that lead to his bedroom behind the curtain. T-chan could take Dana there if necessary.

But of course if he would have tried that yesterday, the girl would have woken. D sighed unhappily. He should have expected something like this. Things had gone far too smooth for the past years. It had been waiting all along. But why now? He wasn't ready yet to be confronted with Leon…

His lips quirked without amusement and he extended one finger to stroke the cheek of the sleeping child. He wouldn't have been ready for Leon if he'd turned up in a year either. There was no 'ready' for this kind of situation, as Ten-chan had already told him before the girl had even been born.

Still, what was he supposed to _do_ now? Just tell the detective? Spill it over a cup of tea?

Did he even _want_ to tell Leon?

Again his conscience started nagging. He should tell him, he knew that. He'd already kept silent for far too long. Every going day meant more lies between the two of them. Now more than ever. Still…

He was afraid. D could admit at least that to himself. He was scared to death since Leon had stepped inside yesterday. He hadn't been able to sleep all night because of the cold lump in his stomach. When he had finally dozed off somewhere around morning, he had woken again quickly, trembling all over and crying. The dream from his pregnancy had returned to torment him, and D had laid there in the dark bedroom, staring at the ceiling of his bed, listening anxiously to the little sounds his sleeping child made. Finally he had stood up. He had to see her to be sure she was still there, that nothing had happened to his baby.

Perhaps he really was a coward. But the terror was still there, chilling his bones and freezing every clear thought. He could not tell Leon.


	11. Leon, babysitter par excellence

**Leon, babysitter par excellence**

Clambering down the stairs to the pet shop, Leon wondered how quickly routine had set in again. When had he arrived in Japan? Four days ago? Yeah, about that. And yet, although he'd just been here for not even a week, going to the shop had already become familiar again. Though he felt that D was not happy about it. At first he'd thought the kami hadn't changed, but now he knew better. The glances he got from behind a curtain of dark hair were not teasing anymore. If the blonde didn't know better, he'd have said D was almost frightened by his presence.

But that could not be. D was never frightened, and certainly not by Leon.

He'd also noticed that D tried to keep Dana out of his sight. She was in the front room the whole time, playing with the pets and – to Leon's amusement – with building bricks, wherever D got those from. But she was always hidden behind the curtain. To the blonde's surprise, the girl was silent most of the time. He didn't know if she was afraid of him or if D had just trained her well.

Leon abandoned the thought and pushed the doors open. "Yo, hi D," he said and put down the bakery box.

The kami barely turned. "Hello Detective," he answered quietly. The human got curious and walked over to him to see what he was doing. Leaning over the kami's shoulder, he realised that the baby was asleep in his lap. D was not moving, probably because he was afraid to wake her up.

The blonde smiled. "Got tired, huh?"

"She has been playing all morning. Please help yourself, there is tea in the pot on the stove," D replied, voice still barely above a whisper. Leon did as he was told, looked at the unmoving frame of D, poured him a cup as well and brought it over. D's mismatched eyes flickered up in surprise, and for a second, Leon could have sworn he saw pain in them. He blinked, confused, but the moment was gone again.

"Why don't you go lay her down, huh? I can watch the shop meanwhile," he suggested, but D shook his head.

Tetsu, lying on the sofa, looked up and snorted. "Because she's going to wake up as soon as he moves, stupid!" the sheep-tiger growled.

"Oh, I'm sorry that I don't know anything about small children. I don't happen to have any," Leon gave back sharply, minding his volume carefully. He at least knew that much.

Had D just flinched?

Small sounds distracted the blonde again. D's stiff back lost its tension and he relaxed, talking softly to the girl on his lap. Leon discerned from that that she was waking up again. T-chan left the sofa and went over, poking her with his nose. "Good morning, Dana-chan," he said gently. From his point of view, the human could just see a tiny hand sneaking into the thick fur. The totetsu didn't seem to mind.

Leon kept silent, watching them attentively. His impression had been right. Everything in the pet shop was centred around D's child now, the pets as much as the kami himself. Yes, there had been a change. He wasn't yet sure if he liked it.

Dana crawled around on D's lap and pushed herself up to look over his shoulder. Leaning her small head onto it, she scrutinized the stranger who was here again. D kept on talking in Chinese, and she answered from time to time, mostly just with a little sound. She was still sleepy, and Leon guessed the hand playing with D's hair was more for support than because she actually wanted to play with it. For a split second he envied the baby. Being able to treat D so carelessly, so openly, what would it feel like? Simply to be able to touch him whenever one wanted to, without having to be afraid of the revenge?

Then she took her fingers from D's hair and pointed straight at Leon. "Bàbà!" she demanded, voice high, but decidedly. The kami turned around half and sent a glance at the detective. He said something in Chinese of which Leon only got the word "detective".

"She can call me Leon if she likes," he said quickly, wanting to add something if the discussion was about him. Again D sent him one of his strange half-glances and kept talking to his daughter. She wriggled in his arms and forced the kami to set her to the floor where she hesitated for a second, grabbed T-chan's fur again and determinedly made her way over to the blonde.

He looked down at her, she looked back up. Blue eyes met blue-golden ones. Then Leon extended his hand. "Hi, Dana, I'm Leon. Nice to meet you," he said. The girl tilted her head to the side, wrinkled her brow and tried to find out what she was supposed to do with his hand. He hesitated, then took her small hand and laid it in his. Tetsu growled, but Dana made no sound or move of protest, just watched him curiously.

Leon carefully shook the little hand. "Hi Dana." He smiled down at her.

"Hi Dana," she repeated with grave earnest. He bit his lip and pointed to himself.

"No, Dana, that's you. You say Hi Leon to me," he explained and emphasized by tipping her and his chest with his finger. A small sound, almost a choke, made his eyes flicker up to D, but the kami had turned away and the child demanded his attention again.

"Hi Leon," she said brightly and shook his hand back.

Leon felt his face split in a silly grin. "You got it, little missy. That's how you say hello. Very good."

Dana tugged at his hand and said something he didn't understand. He sent a helpless glance at the kami, but he still didn't look at them. Leon wondered for a second, but T-chan nudged him. "She wants you to play with her," he translated grumpily.

"Oh. Yeah, sure. Uh, where?"

Leon stood and was led behind the curtain. Now he finally saw what was actually hidden behind. There was another cradle, similar to the one in D's bedroom, and a few dim lamps. Dana's building bricks were lying on the floor in a box, and the plush cat he'd given her was sitting in the cradle. He smiled. "You really like that cat, don't you, sweetie?" he asked and sat down on the floor, following the girl's tug at his hand. She clambered into his lap and turned the box over so that the bricks were lying on the floor.

Pon-chan appeared and sat down, unusually quiet. Leon smiled at her. "Hey, Pon-chan, what's the matter?" he asked.

She regarded him with a strange pensive glance. "Oh, nothing. Dana's just not so open usually," she said and took one of the bricks. Dana said something. "She wants you to build her a bridge," the raccoon explained.

Leon wrinkled his brow and stared at the bricks, clearing his throat. "Well, it's been kinda long time since I played with them," he said. "But well, a try's not gonna hurt, is it?"

Pon-chan suddenly smiled at him. "No, certainly not. I'll help you," she offered and handed him some building bricks. "Here, take these."

Tetsu sidled away unnoticed and returned in front of the curtain to his master. D was sitting on his chair, he was pale and he was actually trembling. The totetsu nudged his master. "I can kill him if you like," he suggested quietly. The kami looked at him, discoloured eyes empty and wide.

"No, T-chan, thank you," he managed. "I cannot have him killed."

Tetsu snorted. "Well, of course you could. There's more than one in here who'd be just too happy to do that."

"He's Dana's father," D answered in a whisper. "I cannot have her father killed."

The totetsu looked at him and sighed deeply, placing his head in D's lap. Automatically the kami's hands started stroking him. "You don't have to do this, Count. We could leave anytime we want to. Just say the word and we'll be gone. He'll never be able to find us again. It was probably just luck."

D shook his head. "No, Tetsu, it wasn't. I do not know who told him, but it was not luck. I made sure he would not be able to find us here. He had help. Before I don't know who helped him, I cannot leave."

"I bet it was Honlon."

D startled. "Honlon?" he said, as if only now thinking of the dragon again. Then, more slowly, "Honlon."

"It would be like her," the totetsu grumbled into his cheongsam. "She hated leaving. She wanted you to tell Leon. Why should it not be her? Stupid hardhead she is."

"She would not act against my wishes," D said, but there was uncertainty in his voice.

"Are you sure? Don't forget that one third of her is Leon," Tetsu reminded him and suppressed, _And the part of her that's you isn't happy with what you're doing either._

The kami sighed, a soft, fluttering sound. "Perhaps you are right, T-chan," he said and pushed himself up. "Still, I cannot find out now. It will have to wait until Leon has left again."

He walked to the curtain and stood there for a second, face pleasant, but the totetsu could see his hand cramping around the fabric. He was afraid, T-chan knew it. D was scared, and his pet didn't like it at all. He would gladly have done anything to get the human out of their sight, but not when his master had forbidden him to do so. But why? Why did he not want him to vanish, while at the same time evading him with all might?

Tetsu wasn't sure if he understood his master still. Once, it had been easy finding out what was going on in the kami's mind, but now – sometimes he doubted the Count himself knew what he wanted anymore.

"Detective, could you please stop playing? Dana has got to have her lunch," D said. His knuckles were white. The blonde looked up and scrambled to his feet laboriously. Dana watched him in confusion, but when her father got her up, she wriggled and started to complain. D, however, didn't care for that and carried her over, seating her on the sofa. Tetsu came out of the kitchen, carrying a plate with food. The girl stilled her protests when she saw it.

Leon idled around while the kami was busy with feeding his child. He didn't feel like sitting down, and it was so strange, watching D like this. For some unknown reason, for the first time since he knew D, he felt completely unwanted in the pet shop. Like his presence wasn't necessary anymore.

The kami surely didn't do anything to ease him. Expect a sharp "Would you please stop wandering around and sit down?", Leon got no sign that he was even aware of him, so hard were his eyes fixed on the small girl and her food. After she'd finished, D placed her on his hip.

"I have to teach her now," he said somewhere in the direction of Leon.

"Teach? Ain't she a bit young for that?" the blonde asked, happy to snatch the opportunity. D shook his head.

"Children have to be taught early, they learn more easily at a young age," he lectured.

Leon stood, feeling like a jerk for just being here. "Well, I guess I'll leave then," he said uncertainly, fiddling with his fingers.

"I guess you haven't seen much of Tokyo until now, have you? It is an impressive city, you should have a look at it," D replied with that smirk Leon hated so much. Only that it seemed he couldn't muster the strength to snap back at the kami for it today.

"Yeah, well, I guess so…" he said slowly, but before he could turn around, there were steps to be heard on the stairs and the door was flung open with force.

"Count!" someone cried out, entering. "Count, you have to come at once!"

Leon stared at the newcomer, a young man roughly his age who looked completely desperate. D looked at him, too, and asked something in Japanese, to which the guy replied with hands and feet, apparently urging the kami to come with him. D's face grew from pleasant to irritated and worried. He looked at his child, then again at the young man, who suddenly knelt down and raised his hands in a desperate plea. D's face set. He pushed Dana at Leon, who stumbled back in surprise.

"Hey, what's this going to be?" he protested. D's mismatched eyes flashed at him angrily.

"A pet I sold this young man is very ill. I have to go and see to it. Now take her, you imbecile!" he snapped. Dana blinked and seemed as confused as the blonde.

"But – why me?"

"Because you are here and I can't take her with me!" the kami grit through his teeth. "Stop fussing now and take her!" D snapped and before Leon could even think of a response, he had an armful of little girl and stood there, dumfounded, as D quickly went out the door.

"Well, okay," he said slowly, desperately wanting to scratch his head and being afraid that if he did, he would let the child fall down. "Then – any ideas what you want to do now, Dana?"

The little girl looked at him with big eyes, apparently not unhappy with the situation. "Leon, play!" she squealed and clapped her little hands. A lopsided grin appeared on the blonde's face.

"Let's go see where your toys are, shall we?" he suggested. Dana seemed happy, and so he went to the corner of the shop where her bed and other things stood again. Looking down on it, he shook his head. No, he'd never expected D to have a kid. Not like that.

"Leon." Pon-chan followed them, her face a little anxious. He turned.

"Yeah, what's the matter?"

She bit her lip, looked between Dana and Leon, then at the door through which the Count had vanished. It was clear she was fighting with herself and couldn't reach a conclusion. Leon knelt down. "What's it, Pon-chan? Is everything alright?" he asked, gently so not to press her. The raccoon looked at him with bright, unsure eyes.

"Well, it's just – that the Count – never leaves Dana with anyone," she started hesitantly. "It's – ouch!"

Before Leon could think, he'd slapped T-chan, hard. The totetsu growled, all sharp teeth bared, but the blonde was not impressed. "How can you bite Pon-chan?" he demanded angrily. "She hasn't done anything to upset you!"

"She's a stupid little brat!" Tetsu gave back hotly and glared at his friend who was looking at her tail with tears in her eyes. Leon patted her reassuringly.

"C'mere, little lady. We'll go play and leave that idiot sheep-tiger to his bad mood," he said coolly and scooped her up, too.

Dana chose that moment to crawl down. She tugged at Leon's hand again. "Honlon!" she said impatiently. Leon heard the sharp intake of breath from both T-chan and Pon-chan. The totesu started to scold her in Chinese, but she just pouted and continued to tug Leon into the back of the shop. He hesitated, too.

"Dana, I'm not sure if I'm allowed to go there," he told the girl, but she, expectedly, didn't understand a word he was saying, and just kept on calling "Honlon". So Leon followed.

Tetsu grabbed his leg like he'd done when Leon followed D to his bedroom and thus very effectively stilled his movements. "Oh no, you're not going to her!" he growled. Pon-chan hopped down to Dana and tried to hold the girl back, too, talking to her. Leon didn't get the sudden uproar, and it sparked his curiosity.

"Who is this Honlon?" he asked and swore when Tetsu's teeth hit his flesh. "Dammit, you freaking thing! Stop that! I'm not even moving!"

The beginning fight between Leon and T-chan was stopped by Dana's shrill wail. "Honlon!" she whined and continued to cry despite Pon-chan's attempts to soothe her.

The blonde glared at Tetsu. "There you've got it, beast! Now she's crying, well done!" he hissed and got down, but Dana pushed his hands away and cried even louder.

"Ho-hon-lo-hon!" she sobbed.

Next thing Leon knew, a door somewhere in the back had flown open, a giant dragon head had appeared and snatched Dana up and vanished again behind that door. He stared. Tetsu let go of his leg.

"Oh shit!" he said with feeling. "I'm not going in there, no way!"

"Dana!" Pon-chan cried out and scuttled towards the door. "Kanan, what did you do that for?"

The blonde unfroze and went after the raccoon. Tetsu looked guilty, considered for a moment and then followed, too. They broke through the door just as Kanan swung her little sister through the air, the child squealing with delight. Leon froze on the spot. "Fuck!" he whispered. "Oh shit!"

Shuko noticed them and turned her head to look down on the human. "Welcome, Leon," she said, voice warm and friendly. "Don't you want to have a seat?"

"It talks," the blonde said, sounding completely stunned. "The dragon talks."

"Kanan, set Dana down!" Pon-chan cried meanwhile and tried to get the Leon-dragon to release the baby. Kanan snorted and at last brought Dana down to the floor, setting her down carefully.

Junrei at once guided the child over to her side of the chamber. "Kanan, you shan't do that!" she scolded her sister. "The Count _told_ you not to play so roughly with her!"

She didn't get to say more, because Leon had darted in, snatched Dana up and retreated. The girl-dragon blinked at him surprised, while Shuko smirked and Kanan snorted bemused. "There is no need to protect the child from us," she said. "After all, we won't hurt our sister."

Dana wriggled around in Leon's arms until she could look up into his face. "Dana Leon play Honlon!" she smiled and the blonde sent the dragon a suspicious glance.

"How am I to know if you're telling me the truth?" he demanded, retreating even further. T-chan chose to add his two cents to the discussion.

"Stop fussing, you idiot, Honlon would _never _hurt the Count's child!" he snapped. "You can trust her, at least in this respect."

Kanan slid forward until she could look Leon in the eyes. "Yes, you can, father," she said deceptively softly. "Neither of us would hurt our little sister."

The blonde gaped and clutched Dana closer. "What the hell? I'm not your father! I don't even know you!"

"Oh yes, you do!" Junrei cut in and beamed. "You were there when we were born! That's why I'm older than Kanan is." She looked at her sister triumphantly. Shuko sighed softly and came to rest right in front of Leon, too.

"She is right, Leon. You are our – father. Well, mostly Kanan's," she added, sneaking a glance at the Leon-dragon.

A shiver crossed Leon's frame. "You're lying. I don't have a kid, and certainly not a dragon kid."

Shuko and Kanan exchanged a meaningful glance. "But you do!" Junrei blurted and then stopped, looking confused. T-chan had jumped up right on her head and was effectively keeping her mouth shut with his body. She blinked at him with wide eyes.

Leon's eyes darted between dragon, totetsu, Pon-chan and the child in his arms. "I don't know you, no matter what you say," he said firmly. "And we're going to leave now. D'll have my head if something happens to Dana."

He turned, but Kanan was quicker. The door shut with a pang, and no matter how much Leon tried to open it, it wouldn't work. "Oh no, you're staying here," she said with a growl. "I've waited so long for you to show up here at last, I won't let you get out of this so soon, father!"

The blonde frantically pulled at the doorknob. "Open that friggin' door!" he yelled and whirled round, still protecting Dana as good as possible. The girl seemed to take quite a delight in the events unfurling before her eyes.

Pon-chan scrambled up and crouched on Leon's shoulders. "Don't upset her!" she cried. "She's gonna blow up the whole city if she's upset!"

Something clicked. Leon stilled his frenzied movements and took in the form of the dragon more closely. "Fuck!" he breathed.

Kanan blinked. "Oh, seems you got it at last, didn't you?" she scowled. Shuko nudged her while Junrei still was too busy trying to get Tetsu off her head to do anything else.

"Be quiet, Kanan, you won't make him understand any quicker if you curse him," she said and Kanan's eyes tweaked dangerously.

"You are not going to tell me how I am to speak to my father," she hissed.

"You're the girl Chris was talking about," Leon said, cutting in without wanting to. He stared at the towering dragon heads. "Shuko, Kanan and Junrei, wasn't it? He talked about you. But I never knew you were a dragon – you were _that_ dragon…"

"Oh, he remembers us, the forgetful father." Kanan's temper was rising again.

"Hush, you all!" Pon-chan cried out, having at last gotten fed up with all the drama taking place. "We're gonna leave now, and when the Count comes back, he's going to give you a lecture about this whole thing! Come on, Leon!"

The blonde didn't budge. "Not yet, Pon-chan," he said instead and scrutinized the dragon. "Not before I really know what's going on here. So, you were real, weren't you? I wasn't imagining things on that Christmas eve, was I?"

"Of course not," Shuko replied while Kanan mumbled something unfriendly under her breath. It sounded suspiciously like one of the words Leon was so fond of, too. "We never had a chance to thank you for helping the Count, and for giving birth to us, especially to Kanan." The words were accompanied by a mean glance in the direction of her sister who blustered at once.

"Well, just imagine that I wasn't too glad to have been born with _you_, either!" she snapped and turned blazing eyes to her father. "Fucking way to create me, father, really!"

"I didn't intend to create anything, and certainly not a dragon," Leon countered and hoisted Dana up on his hip. She was still quiet, following the events with bright curious eyes, as if aware something special was happening right now. "So, which one of you is who? One has to be the Count. I guess that's you, ain't you?"

He indicated Shuko with his chin and the head bowed. "Indeed, I am the Count's child. Your true daughter is Kanan here."

A weak smile flickered over the blonde's face. "Well, I kind of figured that out already. The last one is Junrei, then."

"That's me!" The girl-dragon had finally succeeded in getting T-chan off her head and beamed brightly at Leon. "How's Chris? I liked him so much, but the Count wouldn't keep him here. I wanted him so much to stay!" Her eyes filled with tears, but then she brightened again. "I'm so happy you're here at last! Kanan wanted to talk to you so much!"

"I didn't!" the Leon-dragon protested fiercely and growled. The blonde regarded her for a moment. There were certain character traits he couldn't deny resembled his greatly. But his child…?

For a moment he wondered why in all heavens he was taking this so calmly. He should have been freaking, finding out that the Christmas dragon had been real, and even more, was his child in some weird kind of way. But surprisingly, he wasn't too spooked. Only – a little run over. But not freaked, and neither too surprised. Perhaps because he'd long since given up being surprised by anything in D's shop.

"He never told me you're in the shop," he said instead, remembering the kami. Kanan snorted.

"That idiot would not do that," she said disparagingly. Leon decided he kind of liked his 'daughter'.

Shuko sent her a reprimanding glance. "He didn't think you would believe him, Leon," she explained. "Chris found us quite by accident, but the Count was afraid you would not take us for real."

"Well, he was probably right about that," Leon admitted. "I don't even believe it now. How in hell did that even happen?"

"You took the egg and created us. Me. That's the whole story," Kanan said impatiently. "What does it matter now? Much more important is the fact that now you're here at last. Was about time you took responsibility!"

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Much as I hate to tell you, but without even knowing you were there taking responsibility for you was kinda difficult," he said, but he seemed more amused than actually angered. Then he laughed and sat Dana down, intertwining his arms.

"I don't believe it. A dragon. I've got a dragon kid. Now that tops every weird I've ever seen in this shop, even that sheep-thingy."

"I am not a sheep-thingy!" T-chan growled angrily. Pon-chan stepped on his foot to keep him quiet. She was anxiously following the conversation and heaved a silent sigh of relief that Leon was taking the whole affair with humour so far.

Dana waddled forward and embraced Shuko with her small arms. "Play!" she demanded and tugged at her sister. "Play Leon!"

The corner's of Leon's mouth quirked. "Well, okay then, why not. What do you want to play, Dana?"

The girl hopped up and down and said something Chinese. Kanan translated. "She wants to play Pet Shop," she said.

"Pet Shop. You have got to be kidding me." Leon sighed and scratched his head. "Well, I'm for sure curious how that works."

"Easy!" Junrei cut in. "You are the customer, and Dana is the Count. You have to come and buy a pet, and Dana will give you one."

Leon did not look convinced, but he complied. He was pretty sure he'd have no real chance talking to the dragon in peace as long as the child was around. But he wanted to talk to D even more. The guy should have a good explanation ready…

They played for some time, but then he noticed that Dana's eyes were small and her enthusiasm had faded considerably. "What about a little nap, missy, huh?" he asked. Dana didn't answer, but her eyes kept falling close. Leon grinned and took her up. "It's about time for you, too. D'll have my head if you're not in bed when he comes home. It's –" he looked around, searching for a clock, but found none, "late," he conceded, sighing a little. How could he be expected to bring her to bed on time when there was no clock around? That was just so D again.

"Why are you leaving now?" Kanan protested and the blonde looked at her. He recognised the look in her eyes and hesitantly held out a hand. For a second the dragon looked at it, but then rested her head in it, returning the look her father was giving her.

"I'll bring the little one to bed. Perhaps we can talk some other day," he said calmly. "Bye, Honlon."

"Goodbye, Leon," Shuko replied while Junrei chirped her own goodbye.

All three heads watched as the blonde left the room, Pon-chan and T-chan at his heels. Then Shuko turned to Kanan. "Well, it went better than anticipated, didn't it?" she said. Kanan shrugged.

"Let's wait what he says when he finds out we're not his only daughter," she replied darkly. "I've got the feeling he won't take that so well…"

* * *

Leon was unaware of his daughter's thoughts. He carried Dana back to D's bedroom instead of the front room, following Pon-chan's instructions. She also helped him find the Count's bedroom again and convinced T-chan to go inside, who was quite averse to the idea. But the raccoon argued that D would be unhappier if Dana slept in the front room than if he found Leon in his bedroom. At last the totetsu gave in, grumbling, and allowed Leon to set the girl down on the changing table.

The girl held completely still when he undressed her and put her into the nightclothes that were lying in the little bed, which was lucky, because Leon wasn't quite used to undressing and dressing little girls. Big girls, yes, no problem there. But little girls in Chinese children clothes – more complicated.

By the time he'd finished buttoning all the little closures on Dana's nightdress, the girl was already half asleep. Carefully he put her into the bed and drew the covers over her. She was asleep almost the second he'd laid her down and then he just sat and stared at the little sleeping child without really seeing her. Tetsu growled, but again Pon-chan held him back and dragged him out of the bedroom. "Shush, Tetsu!" she scolded. "Let him think in peace!"

Leon didn't hear them arguing, and neither did he notice the door falling close, leaving him alone with the baby in the cradle. He looked down on Dana and thought. What was he going to ask D? Why he'd never told him about the dragon? If he was honest, that was the only real question he could come up with. He couldn't even ask why Honlon was there. He remembered that Christmas eve very well.

So what was he going to ask D about Honlon? And then, of course, there was Dana. Just great. As if he didn't have enough to think about already with just the dragon.

* * *

Two hours later D returned. He entered the shop silently, laid down his coat and sighed, a little, unhappy sound. His eyes searched his child, but he couldn't see her. Neither Leon. Suddenly his tiredness disappeared.

"Detective?" he called out, quickly going into the back of the shop, alert to the last nerve in his body. Pon-chan appeared and waved at him.

"He's in your bedroom. I told him to lay Dana to sleep there," she explained and looked a little bit uncomfortable.

D smiled, for some reason relieved. "Oh, I should have thought about that. It's already very late," he replied and floated inside the bedroom.

Leon turned on his seat beside Dana's bed. "She's asleep," he said, trying to sound all casual and failing completely at it. The young kami quietly laid down his scarf and stepped up beside the cradle, looking down on the sleeping child. A soft smile graced his face. He bent down and kissed Dana affectionately.

"Let us go to the front," he whispered and left the bedroom again, Leon close on his heels. He slumped down on the sofa while D prepared tea. His eyes followed the kami's familiar movements.

"So, what was the whole story?" he asked. D, uncomfortably aware that Leon's eyes were on him, refrained from hunching his shoulders and sat down, pouring tea.

"The pet is well again. She ate some poison, but fortunately her master was observant and noticed when she started to behave strangely."

"Huh," Leon replied. D sipped his tea. "And what did you and Dana do, Detective?"

"Actually, we visited my daughter."

The teacup fell to the floor. Leon held his hands up in defence. "Whoa, D, relax! What's the matter with you lately? You're completely strange!" he exclaimed.

The kami could just stare at him with wide, frightened mismatched eyes. "You – visited your daughter?" he choked.

Leon wrinkled his brow. "Yeah. For sure freaked _me_ out, that dragon. At least at first."

His lungs were able to draw in air again. D took a deep, shuddering breath. "Oh. You mean Honlon."

Leon's blue eyes looked confused. "Yeah, course I mean that dragon. Who else should I mean?"

"No one, of course. I was just – pray excuse me, Detective. I am afraid I am quite exhausted. Poison is nasty business, it takes a lot of work to cure a pet." D's anxious eyes noticed the blonde relax. He sighed softly and allowed himself to relax, too.

"I do not assume you went into the back without my permission?" he asked sharply, wanting to keep the façade going. Leon shook his head.

"Dana went there, and then Kanan just snatched her up, and Pon-chan went in there, and well, I thought I should better go and get the kid out again." He grinned lopsidedly. "Couldn't know that it was my daughter in there, now, could I?"

"No, of course not," D replied. He picked his cup up and refilled it. "I do hope they were polite. Kanan has not quite the best manners."

Leon chuckled. "Well, she's my kid. Or something like it. I don't care for manners, either."

D's brow wrinkled deeply. "I noticed," he murmured and the blonde laughed.

"Yeah, well, anyway, I like them. Chris was absolutely crazy for them, too."

The kami sighed softly. "I know."

"You know what's really strange?" Leon mused and stared at the ceiling. "I could swear I heard Kanan's voice before. I just can't remember when or where…"

D perked up. "Was it perhaps in a dream?" he inquired sharply. The human looked at him confused, opened his mouth to deny and then blinked.

"You know, that coulda been," he said thoughtfully. "I had that one dream before I came to Tokyo, and someone was telling me to come here in it…"

The air around D suddenly seemed to sizzle. The blonde stared. "D?" he asked carefully and was favoured with such a strained fake smile that he shuddered involuntarily.

"Yes, I thought as much," D gritted through his teeth.

Leon wisely decided to take his farewell.

* * *

"Honlon!"

Junrei startled, while Kanan merely opened one eye to blink at the furious Count in front of her. "And especially _you_!" he hissed. "What did you think, luring the detective to Japan like that?!"

The Leon-dragon yawed. "I thought, I want to see my father again. And probably my little sister would like to meet him before she's grown, too," she replied and D's face contorted in fury.

"Dana is _none_ of your business, and neither is my relationship to Leon!" he very nearly yelled.

Shuko, silent until now, rose and actually elbowed Kanan to the side. Her sister protested, but she didn't listen. Junrei was just looking at them with wide eyes, only slowly understanding what was going on here.

"What relationship?" the Count-dragon asked coolly. "You two don't have a relationship. Unfortunately, because you might be happier if you did."

The young kami gasped and sputtered. "I would not!" he insisted. Shuko smirked knowingly.

"You can lie to yourself, but not to me," she said. "You are a coward, Count. You are afraid Leon will be angry when he finds out, and so you solve the problem by simply not telling him. But that is not the right way and you know it. You will have to tell the human one day that he has got a biological daughter."

D's face set. "He will leave again soon. And I will make sure he won't be able to find the pet shop again. How did you send him those dreams?" His eyes turned to Kanan, burning with hot fury. The Leon-dragon stared back, unimpressed. "Your link to him seems to be quite strong. I will have to isolate the crystal palace better."

"Try," was Kanan's answer. "Go on and try, Count. We'll see which one of us is stronger."

Now D paled, just a bit, but he did. He knew full well that if the dragon really employed her whole strength, there was nothing he could do to stop her.

Shuko again got between them. "Please, Count, be reasonable. You know yourself you can't keep Dana a secret her whole life. She is not even two years old now, but one day, she will need the company of humans, for she is half-human. Do not be silly. Tell Leon the truth. Now is still the chance that he doesn't suspect anything. He will be shocked, but he will be angrier if he finds out himself," she pleaded. D swallowed hard. That was exactly what he had been thinking, too. But he simply could not…

"If you're not going to tell him, I am," Kanan cut in. "He's my father. I won't lie to him any longer."

"Kanan!" Shuko hissed, but her sister only glared.

"He's not going to tell him, don't you see that? He'll keep Dana from him until it's too late. Until Leon is dead, or has found a wife, and has children on his own."

The kami stumbled. His lips were white. "Kanan!" Junrei screeched in dismay and hurried to soothe her father. "Don't worry, Count, Leon's not gonna marry," she said. "He's not even able to hold a girl for long enough."

"I will tell him," D choked out. "I promise, dragon. I am going to tell him. But in return, you have to promise me that you won't tell him yourself."

He turned pleading mismatched eyes to the dragon. Kanan looked at him, hard. "Okay," she finally conceded. "I promise I won't tell him if you promise to tell him. Soon."

The kami nodded quickly. "I will," he got out, before he hurried from the crystal palace.


	12. Coming closer step by step

I'm in kinda a hurry, since there're only 3 minutes left of today... Thanks for the reviews, guys! And have fun!

**Coming closer step by step**

The invitation arrived in the early morning. D studied it closely on his way to the crystal chamber, thinking hard. When he entered, Kanan and Junrei, for once being friendly to each other, were rolling a ball back and forth with Dana. The girl laughed and scrambled to wherever it rolled. Shuko watched them, head lying on a cushion comfortably. She looked up as the kami entered and spotted the letter in his hand.

"What's that, Count?" she asked. Pon-chan stopped running after the girl and came over, peeking into the folded paper.

"It's an invitation!" she cried, delighted. "From the new master of Ariane! Count, will you go?"

"Now, now, Pon-chan, no reason to get so excited," D replied and smiled at her enthusiasm.

Tetsu came over, too. "He's okay," he added his two cents to the discussion.

"Yes, but I think I will decline," the kami answered and sat down to pour himself a cup of tea.

"But why?" the totetsu protested. "You've barely left the shop since Dana was born! You need to get out sometimes. It would be a nice change, and it will spare you another evening evading Leon's questions."

D bit his lip, thinking hard. "I – he is a very good customer of ours. And the invitation is most kind," he said uncertainly and sent a glance at the child. "But I can't leave Dana alone for so long…"

T-chan shrugged. "Well, then make Leon look after her. He's her father, after all. You looked after Chris one whole year and you're not even related. You can go out and have some fun for once, and he stays here like he damn well should."

The kami gnawed on his lower lip. "But he isn't used to dealing with small children," he argued. Shuko sighed.

"Just leave her with him for one evening, Count. He didn't do badly last time and he won't do badly this time either. If anything happens, we're still here, too, after all. He's not all that dumb."

That got her a glare from the Count. He still wasn't too happy about her luring Leon to Japan. And even more unhappy about Kanan's blackmail. But he gave in at last. "Well then," he sighed, "I shall talk to the Detective about it."

"That's a good boy," Pon-chan said, satisfied and T-chan added, "It's about time he does some of the work. So far he's only made a nuisance of him again."

"He doesn't know Dana is his child," Shuko reminded the sheep-tiger, who barely snorted.

"Doesn't matter. He's responsible for her being here, he can do some work," he stated. D looked into the depths of his teacup and tried not to sigh. He didn't want to explain again that Leon was in fact as innocent about Dana as he could possibly be.

Oh, it was just annoying, the whole thing! Why had Honlon had to lure Leon to Japan?! It had been so much easier to forget about him when he wasn't there…

But now, D felt like he didn't even know himself anymore. As if his hormones were going crazy again, like during his pregnancy. One moment, he really _wanted_ to tell Leon. And then again, he balked, scared to death of what would happen when Leon found out D had betrayed him for so long. He might be able to surprise D constantly, but of one thing the kami was pretty sure, and that was that Leon could not easily forgive treason.

He didn't know anymore where he stood. He felt as if he was crawling on a small edge, the abyss on both sides, each step containing the danger of slipping and falling. Kanan's blackmail wasn't making this any easier. If he only could remember what it felt like to _know_ what to do…

Again his bad conscience started nagging. He _should_ tell Leon. He had promised the dragon to tell him, and he should better do it soon, before the blonde found out on his own. But to be honest, D hoped that Leon would leave the question alone and not dwell on it. And even though he'd promised, he had not said when exactly he would tell the human. He could do it tomorrow. Even if it made matters worse. Tomorrow he would care less about Leon and what the blonde felt for him. Tomorrow he could tell him.

* * *

So when Leon arrived, he only asked him to look after Dana for the evening, pretending it to be a favour in return for looking after Chris for so long. To his surprise, the blonde agreed at once.

"Yeah, sure. I'll do that," he said and winked at Dana, offering the plush cat to him. "We're gonna have a lot of fun, aren't we, missy?"

D suddenly had to swallow hard. Quickly he excused himself and went to the back to change his attire. When he returned, Leon was just sitting on the sofa, playing gee-gees with her. Dana was squealing with joy and the young kami shook his head. She'd truly inherited more human traits than he'd thought.

"I am leaving now, Detective," he announced and felt his heart flutter for a second. Perhaps this was not a good idea at all… He should better stay and watch out for both his child and that no one told Leon the truth…

But Tetsu's sharp glance told him better not to change his mind. So D barely sighed deeply. "Please make sure she is in bed on time," he prayed and bent to kiss Dana on the forehead.

The little girl looked up in surprise. "Bàbà?" she asked and D smiled, feeling his heart clench.

"I will only be away for two or so hours, Dana," he told her in Chinese. "Leon will be here and play with you. You won't even miss me, probably."

A hot flare of jealousy surged through his chest. But he _wanted_ Dana to miss him. She was _his_ child, and not the detective's. _He_ had raised her since her birth, not the human.

The totetsu nudged him impatiently. "Go on, leave!" he said sharply. "I'll make sure nothing happens."

D went to the door and looked back. Dana and Leon both followed him with their eyes, and he grabbed the frame hard at the sight of two pairs of ocean blue eyes watching him. "Would you care to wave goodbye, Dana?" he quickly said the first thing that came to mind. The girl clapped her hands.

"Wave goodbye!" she cried. D smiled, a small, unhappy smile.

"Well, Detective, then you should come up with me. Otherwise she won't be able to wave," he told the human and waited until the blonde had understood what he asked of him and complied. Then he floated up the stairs and stepped onto the street. Again his heart made something very painful.

"I will be back as soon as possible," he promised, not looking at Leon. "Be careful. Dana can be quite adventurous sometimes."

"Don't worry, I'll be the best baby-sitter you can find," the blonde promised and ruffled the girl's hair. "Have fun."

D nodded, turned and walked away quickly. He did not even turn to wave back at his daughter.

* * *

Dana waved at D until he was out of sight, and then Leon returned to the pet shop with the girl seated on his hip comfortably, wondering why in hell the kami had at first asked him to come up with the girl and then not even bothered to wave back. But fortunately, she didn't seem to mind.

They spent some time walking around and looking at different things Dana suddenly took an interest in. She was most fascinated by the small bronze pot D used to burn the incense in. Leon, though, to the relief of all the pets present, did not allow her to touch it.

"No, sweetie, you'll burn your fingers and D'll have my head. That's not something either of us wants, believe me," he said firmly. Dana pouted for a second, but the she brightened again and pointed to a big mirror.

"Jìng!" she demanded. Guessing that meant "mirror", the blonde complied and went over.

Stopping in front of the mirror, Leon looked at himself with the child on his arm. Dana gazed into the mirror and laughed, her eyes sparkling with mischief. The blonde just had to grin, too. It was hard not to smile back when Dana smiled at you. Her smile was so different from the smile D usually wore – it was so open, so friendly, everything but mysterious. It was just Dana.

Still looking into the mirror, he suddenly frowned and carefully looked between them. The kid didn't notice his distraction, she was busy fumbling with his hair and talking in Chinese. He'd never really noticed – but the features in Dana's face which weren't quite D's…

Again Leon took a good look. The girl pecked her head to the side and smiled, satisfied with the mess she's made of Leon's hair. The blonde nearly stumbled. Now he knew why Dana's smile had been so familiar. It was exactly the same smile Chris had.

And that meant it was the same smile he himself had, too.

Spooked Leon stared at the kid in his arms. "Who the f- who are you?" he whispered. Dana let go of his hair and turned her blue-golden eyes up to him, confused by his croaking voice. Blue eyes. Damn it, _blue_ eyes. Why hadn't he noticed earlier?

But how – was that even possible? Was he imagining things now? D's shop had always had a tendency to confuse him…

Dana, though, was not happy that Leon was not concentrating on her. She grimaced and pulled at his hair that the blonde winced. "Honlon!" she demanded.

"Yeah, okay. We'll go visit your dragon friend."

The totetsu, until now watching them suspiciously from his place on the sofa, got up at once. "I'm going with you," he said grumpily, much to Leon's surprise.

"I thought you can't stand those three," he pointed out. Tetsu's glare got nearly fiendish.

"Someone has to make sure neither you nor she does anything wrong."

Leon was somehow getting fed up with fighting with the sheep-tiger all the time, so he just turned, sighing, and made his way to the dragon's room, guided by Pon-chan. The raccoon at least did not seem to mind coming there with him.

Junrei was asleep when they entered, but Shuko and Kanan turned their heads. The Count-dragon smiled softly. Kanan just looked a bit friendlier than before. But Leon knew himself enough to know what that meant. He put Dana to the floor.

"Almost thought D'd have cut off your heads. He was pretty pissed," he said by way of greeting. Kanan tossed back her head defiantly.

"As if I'd care for that," she snorted and bent down to greet the small girl.

Shuko blinked slowly. "He made very clear our behaviour didn't please him," she acknowledged and Leon almost laughed.

"I bet he yelled at you!"

Kanan looked up again. "He didn't!" she snorted disparagingly. "He never does. No wonder he never has any success!"

Leon regarded his "daughter" pensively for a moment. "Yeah, I can see it, too," he replied and sat down, noticing that Shuko was busy with Dana and the girl seemed content at the moment. So instead, he looked up at the dragon. She was unusually quiet, returning the look peacefully.

"So. You're me, then," the blonde began.

"Didn't I say that?" Kanan replied. "At least, I inherited some character traits from you."

"Must really suck with someone like the Count in the same body."

"You have _no_ idea!" Kanan shot her sister a mean glance. "If it hadn't been for Chris, I'd have killed her long ago."

Leon chuckled. "The Count's hard to kill, believe me. I've tried."

His voice suddenly lost its ease and he stared at the floor concentrated. Kanan nudged him. Her wild eyes were worried and peaceful. "Father, do not be sad. It was time for the Count's father to die and get reborn," she said softly, far gentler than one would have thought.

Leon smiled and patted her head. "Yeah, well, I still shouldn't have shot him, now, should I? D's still thinking about it. He's strange. I don't think he's forgiven me yet."

Kanan blinked. "That is not the reason for the Count's behaviour."

The blonde looked up in surprise. "Not? But – what else? I mean, he's always been distant to me, but never like this. Sometimes I almost think he's afraid of me…"

The dragon had just opened her mouth to reply when suddenly Junrei woke. Her eyes caught Dana at once.

"Hey! Why didn't you wake me?" she cried out, tears in her big eyes. "I wanted to say hello, too!"

Kanan rolled her eyes. "Great. No one's able to talk while she's awake!" she growled and the girl-dragon wailed, thus causing Shuko to reprimand her sister. Kanan's temper flared at once, and before Leon had even time to stand up, they were quarrelling loudly. The blonde stared at them fascinated. If it looked the same when he and D were arguing, he for sure could understand that people were shocked. Wow.

But still, he was not responsible for the dragon. His job was to look after the small girl, sitting forgotten at the feet of the dragon and calling for him with her little voice. Leon shook his head, fetched her and left the dragon's room as silently as possible, ordering the growling totetsu to stay and make sure the dragon calmed down again. He wasn't overly worried. D and he took their time, but they'd never managed to be angry at each other for very long. If one didn't count the continuous annoyance D caused in Leon. But that was mostly due to his own feelings, anyway…

Dana babbled something and he tried to find out what she was telling him, not surprisingly with no success. She got angry when he didn't comply and started to wriggle in his arms. Leon grabbed tighter, afraid she might fall down. "Dana, stop that! You'll get hurt!" he cried. The girl's lower lip quivered and her face contorted.

The next second, she'd started sobbing. "Bàbà!" she sniffed. There was a little turmoil in the back of the shop and then T-chan stormed out of the crystal palace, growling low in his throat. The blonde pressed the kid to his chest and stared at the tiger-goat fiendishly.

"I didn't do anything!" he defended himself. "She just started crying!"

Bared teeth were added to the growl. Leon shot the totetsu a mean glance and turned to the girl. "Ssh, Dana, sweetie. Don't cry," he soothed her and let his hand glide over the almost-black hair. "It's alright. I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you. We'll go play now, promise."

He carried her over to where her corner was and set her down in the middle of her building bricks. She sniffed once or twice, but then she spotted the plush cat Leon had bought for her and squealed again, scrambling over to get to it. The blonde shoved his thoughts aside and decided that he could think of that strange coincidence later. Right now, he had to look after a small kid, and whoever she was, he didn't want anything to happen to her just because he was too distracted.

Who the fuck was Dana? How came D even _had_ a kid, if his species reproduced by dying and then getting reborn? How came grandpa hadn't killed him for getting so close with a human woman?

Because Dana had to have a mother, right? Only women could give birth to children, that was no different in D's species, right? And if she wasn't some kind of clone, like all Ds seemed to be, she had to have different DNA in her, and that meant that D must've had sex with some woman who'd gotten pregnant and then given birth to the child.

Only question was, where was this woman, what had happened to her and why, for god's sake, had Leon never noticed that D had a girlfriend? How came he had never met that woman? Because Dana was little less than two years old, if D had told the truth. That meant he must've met the woman back in L.A., because as far as Leon recalled from biology lessons in school, women were pregnant for nine months. Or was it forty weeks?

Didn't matter. Dana's 20 months plus nine months made 29 to 30 months. 30 months ago D had still been in L.A., the blonde was sure of that. That had been around the time that girl, Monica, appeared and then died, and shortly before Chris had left. Well, Monica couldn't be the mother, that was for sure. But who else?

Well, one thing also was for sure, it had to be someone D had cared for immensely. Otherwise he'd never have gotten it on with her, much less forget himself enough to have a child with her. And if she'd just gotten pregnant after, well, one wild night, he would've left the kid with her and gone away instead of taking it with him when something happened to the mother. And there must have happened something to her, how else came that the kid was here and she not?

Leon still had problems wrapping his mind around the simple fact that D – _D _– had a kid. A fucking, freaking, damn _kid_. He just couldn't picture _anyone_ with D. And he couldn't picture D having one wild night with anyone, either. God, this whole thing was gonna make his head explode. There were just so many loose ends he couldn't tie up. Honlon, well, she he could handle somehow. It was not as if she was a _real_ kid. It was just some kind of – of – imaginary relation. Dana, though…

* * *

It was late in the night when D arrived home. Silently he opened the front door and went inside, his eyes searching for his daughter immediately. He found her lying on Leon's chest on the couch, fast asleep, as she'd done so many times on his own chest when she'd been a baby.

D went over on tiptoe and looked down at the two sleeping. Dana snuggled against the broad chest trustingly, small arms lying beside Leon's throat as if she'd held onto him and then forgotten when she fell asleep. But there was no danger that she'd fall down, for Leon had his arms firmly around the little body. It looked even smaller in those arms, much more delicate, much more vulnerable. But Leon protected her from falling down.

Unexplainable warmth filled D's heart as he watched Leon's chest rise and fall with deep breaths, mirrored by his daughter's. It almost felt as if his heart would burst any moment. He bent over them and kissed his child lightly on the forehead.

"Sleep well, Dana, my darling," he murmured in Chinese. Then he looked to Leon's face, so very near from this position. Slowly, hesitatingly, but steady as if drawn by an invisible force, he closed in on Leon, until he felt his breath on his skin. And then closer. And closer, until his lips were touching Leon's in a shy, chaste kiss.

For one or two seconds he relished in the feeling of those lips on his. Now he realised that he'd missed their touch. He'd craved to feel them again, feel how soft they were in spite of their appearance. A small sigh escaped him, a soft, quivering sound, and he wanted to draw back reluctantly.

That was the moment when he realised that Leon had opened his eyes and was staring at him with an indecipherable look.

D shot up as quickly as he could, blushing furiously all over. "De – Detective!" he stammered. "I – I am…"

His voice trailed off. He didn't know what to tell Leon. There was no explanation for this. None than the truth, and he wasn't willing to tell that.

"Hi D. You had a good evening?" Leon asked as casually as if D kissing him while asleep was an everyday occurrence. The kami bit his lip and nodded, letting his hair fall so that it hid his burning face. "That's nice. Dana and me, we had a nice evening, too. We played hide-and-seek with T-chan and Pon-chan," Leon told him, still completely casual. D cleared his throat.

"That's – that's really nice, Detective. I am very grateful you looked after Dana today. Really, I am."

"Mm." Leon's stare was making him uncomfortable and he squirmed a little bit. The blonde loosened one arm around the kid. "Would you help me stand up, please? I can't move without waking her."

"Of course," D murmured and bent down again to pick up his daughter. But instead he found himself being dragged down by Leon's arm until their mouths were nearly touching again. Quickly D steadied himself with both hands besides the blonde's head. His breath was shallow and his head was swimming when he looked into those blue eyes, which now held a determined expression.

"Stop evading me, D. I'm sick of it. I want to know who Dana's damn mother is," the blonde said, just barely refraining from growling. The kami wriggled experimentally, but found he couldn't move without either waking Dana or causing Leon to loose balance and fall off the couch, which of course would wake the child, too. So he stopped and tried to look anywhere but into those eyes, which was very difficult, given the fact that Leon's face was only about ten centimetres below him.

"I am not evading you, Detective," he gave back, painfully aware that his heart was pounding rapidly in his chest with both fear and excitement. "Please let me take Dana to bed now, it's long past her bedtime."

Leon shook his head. "Sorry, D, not before you've agreed to answer my questions. Who is her mother?"

D felt the slender frame of his daughter between them, how fragile she was, crushed in between her two fathers, and how hot Leon's body underneath her was. His breath hitched in his throat. "Detective, please let me go," he pleaded, exasperated. "Why do you have to know? She's here, isn't that all that counts?"

"D," Leon said and still sounded very calm, even managed to keep his voice down, though the blaze in his eyes told the kami that he was near boiling point, "I've got the feeling that you're evading me because there's something about Dana I really should know. That you won't tell me because you're afraid for some reason, but that you know that I should know. And I'm sick of being the only one who doesn't know what's going on. I bet even T-chan knows what's the matter with the kid."

D couldn't help the bitter smirk that crossed his face in that moment. Of course T-chan knew about Dana. He'd been there when she was born, holding D's hands instead of Leon, who should've been the one doing that.

Not that he actually had missed it on purpose. If D had told him, perhaps Leon would've been there. Perhaps not. But who could tell now?

"I will tell you," he conceded and tried to stand up a little bit. "But let me take Dana to bed first."

Leon let him go and D cradled the sleeping child in his arms, carrying her over to the bed and carefully laying her down again. For a moment he just stood and looked at her, feeling the lump in his throat.

Then he turned briskly and went back to Leon, who'd sat up on the couch and was waiting for his explanation.

The blonde looked at him expectantly, hands on his knees. "So?"

D swallowed once. Twice. He sat down and fiddled with his cheongsam. It was one of his favourites, he'd put it on because it made him feel safe somehow. But he hadn't foreseen that he would need this kind of safety today.

Leon waited. His face betrayed for once nothing of what he felt. In contrast to him, D felt as if his face was not able to keep his mask going, to keep his emotions to himself. He firmly clasped his hands in his lap and averted his gaze.

"Dana has no mother. Not in the sense you understand," he said silently. Leon didn't look too surprised by this.

"She's one of your species, okay, I get that. What I don't get is how comes that she's a girl and doesn't look exactly like you if she was born the way you were."

The kami took a deep breath and let the air out slowly. "No, Detective, you were quite right when you assumed that Dana is not quite like me, that she must have a mother. Because she is indeed – at least half human. She has one human parent."

Now Leon looked confused. This time he'd noticed that D hadn't been talking about a 'mother'. He cleared his throat. "What do you mean, 'parent'? If you're her father, then she must have a mother."

D bowed his head in affirmation. And, to be honest, to hide his face from Leon as he spoke his next words.

"Detective, I am Dana's 'mother'. I gave birth to her."

The shop fell silent. D didn't dare to look up.

"You're kidding. You can't be her mother. You're a guy."

Slowly D looked up and into Leon's blue confused eyes. "Or are you?" the blonde added faintly. D swallowed hard.

"Not exactly, Detective. I am – both. I am as much female as I am male. It is the way my species is. We combine both in our bodies."

"That's – fuck!" Leon let out a long breath and leaned back into the sofa, staring at D. His gaze wandered towards his chest and despite himself, D felt a blush creep up in his cheeks. Silently he thanked the gods that every sign of his breasts had indeed vanished after he'd stopped feeding Dana. He'd felt more than uncomfortable with those strange fat depositions.

"I am not that female, Detective. And please mind your language," he said sharply to distract the blonde from his chest. "The – signs – of my femininity are not that obvious."

At least now Leon was blushing, too. "Oh. I – see. That."

The kami quickly dropped his gaze again. He felt like walking on the edge of a knife. How tell Leon about all this and still keep his fatherhood a secret from him?

"So…" Leon cleared his throat. "You're a – what do they call that? Hermaphros?"

"Hermaphrodites," D answered, taking the teapot and then remembered he'd not prepared any tea.

"I didn't know that humans could be – both. I mean, I know there are people with both gender chromosomes, but…"

D tried very hard not to roll his eyes. "I am not a human, Detective. You should know that by now. Gender chromosomes don't matter in my species."

"Yeah, right. True. Sorry. So – her human parent is – a guy?"

D's heart started to flutter. He resisted the urge to press a hand over it to stop it from bouncing out of his chest and simply nodded.

"You got a guy to fuck you?!"

D glared. "Really, Detective! Your foul mouth is most inappropriate here, and it would even be if there was no little child sleeping behind that curtain!"

Leon blushed, but he didn't get angry. Perhaps he felt as clumsy as D himself did right now. They had never talked about sex having anything to do with D. Only Leon. Never D. And especially not when it had been about the both of them, even if Leon didn't know that. Yet.

"How did you do it?! I mean – was he gay? Was he that Italian godfather that made you visit him on that Christmas Eve? Or that gay guy, what's-his-name, that European?"

D's body was stiff as a stick. His hands were clasped tightly in his lap. "If you are talking about Marquis Alexander von Moldavia, I have to disappoint you. He's not Dana's father, and neither is Signore Luciano. Really, how can you even think that? He's a customer of our shop, not my – my – lover."

Despite himself, Leon heaved a deep sigh of relief. "Gosh, _that_ would be disgusting." The corners of D's mouth twitched as if he wanted to smile, but was too uncomfortable for it. The blonde continued. "So, who is it, then? Do I know him?"

"I – I am not sure if you really know him." D's voice quivered. He suddenly sounded miserable. All of Leon's instincts roared at that voice. He leaned forward and stared hard at the kami, who avoided his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was low and earnest.

"D, I'm not going to push you if you don't want to tell me. But I've got to know if you – if you were raped."

The kami's head shot up and he stared at Leon wide-eyed. "What?! No! I mean – no, I – I wanted to – I mean, I just didn't expect to – to conceive!"

Leon's gaze made him squirm. "Detective, I swear, I wasn't raped. Do not concern yourself about that. It was entirely volitional."

At least as far as he himself was concerned. He couldn't be too sure that the human had been willing to sleep with him. If his memory served him right, once they'd started, he hadn't been averse to the idea. But D knew only too well that Leon had been drunk at the time. He didn't exactly know what the law said about that, but he was pretty sure if Leon hadn't been under alcoholic influence, things on that evening would've gone very different. Perhaps it would've been better. But hindsight didn't change anything.

Leon sighed deeply. D could tell he was relieved. But he felt miserable.

"Did you like him, then? The guy? Dana's dad? Why did you never tell me about him?"

D's hands fiddled with the fabric of his cheongsam. "I – think I liked him, yes. I never told you because – well, there was no real time. It was shortly after Chris left and I didn't expect to conceive."

Leon might have been careful with him as long as he thought him to be a rape victim, but now his rude behaviour was back. He snorted and shook his head. "God, D, if you've got female – parts – you've gotta be careful. Why didn't you use a condom? Geez, you're the cleverest guy I know, and you forget to prevent?!"

The kami instantly forgot his bad conscience and glared at the blonde. "I. Never. Expected. To. Conceive. How often do I have to tell you that?"

"Okay, okay, I got it! But why didn't the guy think about it? I mean, just _one_ of you has had to think that something could happen! Unless that guy was really, really dumb."

"In fact, that was his only real deficit. That his mind never managed to keep step with what he has in his pants," D said through gritted teeth.

Leon just shook his head. "I can't believe you got a guy to get you pregnant! God! That's – weird!"

D stood. He felt like he couldn't take Leon's talk one moment longer. Turning to his teacart, he spoke, silently. "Please, Detective. I do not mean to be rude, but I'd rather be alone right now. Please."

There was silence behind him. Then he heard the blonde rise from the sofa. His steps wandered through the shop. The door opened and closed, and then Leon was gone.

D put the kettle on the stove and fetched some cakes from the kitchen. Tetsu trailed after him silently, now that Dana was asleep.

The cake tasted salty instead of sugary. And where did those wet drops on the table come from?

* * *

Leon buried his hands in his pockets and proceeded towards his hotel. The neon signs to both sides of the road blinked and cast an unreal light over the whole scenery. It matched what he was feeling right now. D wasn't a guy. Well, at least not completely. God, that was _weird_. Not that he hadn't always known something was wrong with D, but he'd never – how could he have guessed it was something like this…?

Slowly, very slowly, his mind worked around the piece of information he'd just received. So D was Dana's mum. Okay. No big deal now, was there? It surely explained why he had the kid and not the father. Most kids got to stay with their mum when their parents separated.

Wait a moment, had D and his lover really separated? Well, they must've been, else the guy would be around here somewhere, wouldn't he? And D had left America without a trace. Leon knew that. He'd spent more time looking for clues as to where the kami could be than he'd actually spent working.

The nagging feeling from in front of the mirror returned. Dana's father wasn't here. D'd said he didn't live in the pet shop when Leon had first asked. Okay, he'd asked about the mother, but wtf. D's answer had been, if he recalled right, "Dana's other parent does not live here."

Well, there he had his first clue something was off with the girl. But he remembered being so nonplussed by the simple fact that D even _had_ a child that he'd not realised what exactly he was saying back then.

Could there be – was there any chance – this strange feeling that D was avoiding him whenever it came to the mother – no, the _father_ – of his daughter…

Blue eyes dotted with the same gold he found in D's eye. A smile that resembled Chris's so much the two kids could've been brother and sister. D's evasiveness about everything concerning the pregnancy.

"_Oh. You mean Honlon."_

The clues all started to add up in his head. But Leon fought the logical conclusion as hard as he could. Lots of people in America had blue eyes, that wasn't rare. Children's smiles all looked very much the same. D wouldn't have raped Chris, never. Not an innocent child, not the Count. And if he had slept with D, he would remember. Hell, and how he would remember! Pushing that sly bastard down and fucking that damn smirk out of his face…

Leon stopped himself before he could go there and hit a nearby wall with his fist, hard. He hadn't thought that. No, he hadn't. It had to be a coincidence.

He continued his stroll to the hotel. But the suspicion had set in his mind and the whole night he dreamed about someone whose name he couldn't remember, who had her eyes closed the whole time while fucking him, and whose body felt indescribable on his own.


	13. Come hell or high water

So, more time today... At first, thanks for the reviews of course! We're slowly coming to some kind of conclusion now, and I hope you'll have fun with the new chapter. :-)

Yeah, Dark Inu, denial is a pretty thing, but you won't come far if you keep your head in the sand... ;-)

**Come hell or high water**

Leon knew when he woke the next morning that he had to find out what was really going on in the pet shop. Come hell or high water, he just had to know if his suspicion was right.

So he set out to his task with the determination with which he hunted criminals down. Well, it just figured. D was some kind of criminal, in a very special way, so special he couldn't even be touched by human laws. But Leon had managed to hunt him down (well, with the help of the dragon, but nevertheless), and he was going to reveal the secret of D's child as well. And he already knew who would help him finding it out.

"Hi D," he greeted the kami casually entering the pet shop and already searched for the girl. D flinched a little bit, and blushed almost indiscernibly.

"Hello Detective," he replied and indicated the sofa. "If you would care to sit down, tea will be ready in a minute."

"Where's Dana?" Leon asked and did as he was told. T-chan growled and eyed him, obviously trying to decide where to bite him. The blonde raised an eyebrow. "What've I done now to upset you?" he asked, only mildly surprised by the totetsu's reaction.

"You're alive, that's what," he growled.

"T-chan, please," D admonished and poured Leon a cup of tea. The blonde took it and sipped it pensively.

"So, I guess Honlon's well, too?"

The kami sent him a hard glance. "Yes, of course she is. You saw her just yesterday, Detective. Why are you asking?"

Leon grinned and shrugged. "Well, was just thinking that perhaps I should go visit her again. After all, she's my kid, isn't she?"

"Yes," D answered, very faintly. Leon looked at him, hard, but sat his cup down without any comment.

"And Dana?"

"Asleep, and don't you dare wake her!" Tetsu snarled. Pon-chan slapped him and climbed onto Leon's lap.

"She'll wake up in a few minutes. She always does," she told the blonde and snuggled into his lap.

"Mm." Leon scratched her fur and her eyes glazed over. If she'd been a cat, she would've purred.

"Oh, D, I ordered a pastry in that bakery round the corner, but they had to make it first," Leon mentioned, seemingly absent-minded. The kami, whose mood had been low since his entrance, perked up.

"Oh really? Detective, you shouldn't have," he purred, mismatched eyes greedy. Leon bit his lip to hide his amusement.

"Yeah, should be ready in half an hour or so." He stretched luxuriously and ignored T-chan's suspicious glare. He just hoped Dana would play along.

* * *

She did. Not five minutes later the child woke, spent the first few minutes on D's arm and then claimed Leon's attention and presence. By the time the pastry was supposed to be ready, she had dragged him to Honlon's room again, angering D a bit with that, but not caring. The blonde grinned up at the kami from his place between Junrei's head and the baby.

"Well, seems as if I'm too sought after to pick it up myself. Why don't you go?" he suggested. D hesitated. Something was in the air, he could feel it.

But greed won. "I will be back in a few minutes. Take good care," he firmly said and left the shop, hurrying. He didn't like leaving the detective with the dragon. He couldn't be sure of her anymore, not with what she'd done already. "T-chan, keep an eye on her," he ordered quietly. The totetsu nodded and went back to the dragon's room while D went to pick up the pastry.

Tetsu arrived back just in time to witness the events without being able to stop them anymore. Leon was not dumb. He'd not wanted to waste time. Who knew when D would be back?

Junrei had been playing with Dana, knocking the girl over by accident. Now she laughed and nudged Dana to her feet again. The girl turned and hugged the dragon with her small arms. "Junrei!" she said happily. Leon smiled, watching them.

"You really like the little one, don't you, Junrei?" he said slyly. She turned to him.

"Of course I do! She's my little sister!" she answered as happily as Dana.

Shuko bent down and tickled Dana. "Baby, baby," she hummed. The girl squealed and wriggled.

"You mean, your half-sister," Leon said casually, keeping his eyes fixed on Shuko and the kid. Kanan behind his back sent a meaningful glance at Shuko. She shook her head almost indiscernibly, then noticed the totetsu rushing forward.

Kanan did, too, and before Tetsu even knew what was happening, she'd pinned him down to the floor, unable to move or cry out. Helplessly he watched as Junrei, naïve as always, went straight into the trap Leon had laid out.

"No, my sister," she corrected, distracted by the baby. "You're my little lovely sister, aren't you, Dana-chan? Yes, you are."

She didn't even notice how silent everyone else had become. All eyes were fixed on the human, sitting on the floor with one knee propped up comfortably. His face was blank, eyes closed hard. His fists clenched and unclenched in a strange rhythm. Tetsu's eyes had widened in horror, and he struggled to free himself of Kanan. The Leon-dragon let him go.

"How dare you?" he hissed at her, but she pretended to be very interested in some flowers in a vase, grinning broadly. Shuko nudged the totetsu.

"Be quiet, Tetsu," she ordered. "He had to get to know one day, so why not today? Don't you think this game's been played long enough?"

"It was _not_ your job to end it! You promised!" he spat.

"Yeah, we did. But he promised us something in return, too. So far he's not made true on his promise. I don't see why we've got to stick to ours then." Kanan looked quite self-satisfied. Pon-chan came to his side.

"Hush, T-chan," she agreed with the dragon. "You know yourself that the Count wasn't happy at all. He's just too stubborn to admit it."

"It still wasn't your job to tell Leon," the totetsu insisted. Shuko and Kanan shrugged synchronously.

"We didn't. He's not that dumb. Don't you see he ordered that pastry just so he could get the Count out of the shop and lure Junrei into telling him?" Kanan said and looked at the blonde. "All we did was keep quiet. That doesn't even qualify as breaking the promise."

T-chan opened his mouth to protest, but found he couldn't find anything to say. So he closed it again, hoping desperately the dragon had known what she was doing.

Leon didn't notice them arguing. He didn't notice Dana playing with Junrei besides him, or Shuko and Kanan watching him attentively. There he had it. He'd been right all along. And now that he knew for sure, he wasn't even surprised. Just – hurt. Cold. But not surprised. Somehow, someway, he had known the whole time that Dana was his child, too.

Why? Why had D never told him? Why had he kept silent? Why had he not explained? It was not as if the guy couldn't express himself, hell, he was the most eloquent person Leon had ever met! But still, he hadn't seen fit to tell him about his child.

God, what should he do now?

* * *

When D came home, he noticed at once that the shop was strangely silent. The pets were whispering among themselves and didn't dare to welcome him like they usually did. A bad feeling settled in his stomach and he hurried towards Honlon's room.

The first glance told him that Dana was alright. She was sitting besides Leon on the floor, babbling happily and playing with her building bricks. Honlon was watching her little sister with genuine interest, while T-chan and Pon-chan were keeping watch by her side.

D wanted to breathe out in relief when he realised that the detective's face looked – blank. Not angry, not concerned, not happy or any other emotion he might have expected to find on his face. Just blank.

The knot in his stomach tightened. Carefully he went closer and cleared his throat silently. "I – I am home, Detective," he said uncertainly. Leon raised his head and looked at him, an indecipherable expression in his eyes. Then he looked down again at the child and got onto his feet. He strode over to the slightly shaking kami and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

D felt like the rug had been pulled out from under his feet. "T-tell you wh-what?" he managed to croak with a suddenly more than dry mouth. Leon's gaze never left his, no matter how much he tried to avert his face. The disappointment in his voice made something in his chest break.

"That she's my daughter, of course. I've been here for almost two weeks, and you've never even thought about telling me that I'm Dana's father."

He couldn't answer to that. He simply wasn't able to. He wanted to tell Leon that he'd thought of it. That he'd constantly been thinking of telling him since he stepped inside the shop, that the thought had never left his mind since he found out that he was pregnant – but he couldn't. Something was cording up his throat and kept the words from tumbling out.

Seeing D so off-balance should've excited Leon to no end. He should've triumphed that he'd finally managed to figure at least one of D's mysteries out on his own. But truth was, he felt just numb. Numb and strange and hurt all at once. He couldn't even begin to figure out what had happened. How it had happened. When it had happened.

"Come on," he said silently and grabbed D's arm to lead the frozen kami out of the crystal palace. "No need to let the kids hear this."

D followed like a lamb being led to the shambles. Leon had never seen him so pale. But he couldn't bother about that.

Arriving in the front room, he pushed the kami down on his chair and sat opposite to him, crossing his arms in front of his body. "So, and now you're going to tell me everything," he said.

D seemed to wake from his shocked state and shook his head a little, like a wet kitten. "I – I do not know what I could tell you that you don't already know, Detective," he said hesitantly.

Leon snorted. "Well, telling me when I got you pregnant would be a start. And from then on you could continue with when you found out you were going to have a kid and why you didn't tell me," he proposed sarcastically. D flinched.

"You were barely twenty-seven!" he said defensively, as if that explained everything. It was silly, he knew. But he surely wasn't going to tell Leon he had been in love with him and afraid of his reaction. Afraid of his love, too.

Expectedly the blonde raised his eyebrow and fumbled cigarettes and lighter out of his pocket. "Yeah, I was. What's your point? I know guys who became fathers when they were sixteen."

D blushed. "But you are still young. A child would just have been a burden for you."

Leon's brows drew together threateningly. "Would you kindly let me decide what I consider as a burden and what not? When did you find out you were pregnant? Did you already know when you left L.A.?"

The kami averted his eyes. "No, I didn't," he answered quietly. "I found out shortly after I arrived in Berlin."

Silence stretched.

"In Berlin."

Leon's voice contained so many emotions that D wasn't sure he got all of them. But he was pretty sure he heard surprise, disappointment, anger and hurt. He dropped his head even lower and nodded.

"And you didn't think you should maybe tell me."

D bit his lip. "What should I have told you, Detective? 'Oh, please come in, Mr Detective, have a cup of tea and some cake, and, by the way, I am pregnant and it's your child'? Did you imagine something like that, yes?"

The blonde stared at him for a moment, rendered speechless by the bitterness in his voice. Then he cleared his throat. "No, of course not. But still, it would have been nice to know I was going to be a dad, and not finding out two years later. It would have been nice if you wouldn't have run again. Dammit, I searched for you all over the world! Why didn't you just wait for me once?"

"Because I thought you would not be too happy to find out what had happened!" D snapped. "Besides, when should I have told you? If I may remind you, I was not only fleeing you, but the FBI, too. Should I have stayed when there was a chance they might be on my trail just like you were? Or told you in passing?"

Leon's temper started to heat up, too, now that the numbness slowly ceased and he was realising the full extent. "When I was in Berlin, you could have told me. You could just have stayed and told me. She wasn't born then, was she?"

The kami looked at the wall again. "No, she was not," he confessed silently. "I went into labour that very night. She was born somewhere over the ocean while the ship was flying to Japan."

For a second the blonde's thoughts were distracted from the obvious. "It's sure a cool way to be born," he said half admiringly. D smiled a little, but it didn't look happy.

Then Leon returned to the original theme and even the little half-smile was gone again.

"And when the hell did we do it?! I can't remember anything. Did you drug me or what? What the fuck did you _think_?!"

Now he glared at D, who was getting very uncomfortable in his chair. He fiddled with his hair, pushed it aside, took a deep breath, until Leon was itching to jump up and shake him until he spilled it. Only the thought that D had given birth to his child kept him in place. He wasn't going to get any explanation yelling at D.

At last the kami let out his breath and started to talk. "I am not surprised you cannot remember. In fact, you were drugged, but not because I did something." A glare. "Alcoholic beverages took care of that for me, and you surely know I never encouraged you to drink them."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "You mean, I was drunk," he said. D's face became icy.

"Yes, you were. I found you in a pub, nearly unconscious, and made sure you got home safely."

When nothing else came forth, Leon shifted forward. "And?" he asked. "You walked me home, okay. And then?"

D blushed so furiously his face resembled a red flower. Delicate and bright. Leon cursed himself for thinking such a silly thing.

"Well, that was it. I walked you home and we engaged in other activities in your apartment," he said stiffly. "I had to undress you so that you wouldn't spoil your clothes and… things went from there."

"You mean, I was drunk and fucked you." The blonde needed to have it clarified. He was having real difficulties wrapping his mind around D's elaborate phrases. Why couldn't the guy just name it, for heaven's sake?!

Now he glared at him nastily. "If you wish to put it that way, then yes, Detective. Yes, you 'fucked' me and got me pregnant."

Leon stared. "Gods, I must've been drunk," he blurted. D blushed angrily and snarled.

"One would think that you would be a little more polite to the mother of your child," he chirped icily.

Of course that was just the right way to get Leon off. The anger rolled up in his body like a wave. He rose to his feet and strode over, grabbing D by his collar and shaking him. "You fucking asshole raped me?! God, I knew you were a freak, but that's just disgusting! You fucking _raped_ me!"

He was screaming when he finished, and shaking D so hard that the kami actually grabbed his arms in fear. "I did not!" he defended himself. "You weren't averse to the idea of sleeping with me at all!"

"I was fucking _drunk_! I wouldn't've been averse to sleeping with a cow, damn you!"

He let go of D, breathing hard, and paced the room angrily, raging on and ignoring the fact that D looked close to tears. Well, that was his problem. He'd started this, and he was going to have to listen to Leon now. It was about time he listened to someone else than grandfather anyway.

"I could get you into prison, you bastard! That's illegal! I don't care if I didn't fight you or anything. You had no right to do that! You had absolutely no right!"

He whirled around, expecting to find a furious D, ready to defend himself and blame everything on Leon as usual. But instead he was greeted by the sight of an averted face, hidden behind a dark curtain of hair. The voice was so soft he had to strain to hear it.

"I am sorry, Detective. I had no right, and I acted against every law. I know I cannot undo what I have done, but please be assured that I never intended to hurt you. And I surely never intended you to know."

The blonde exploded again. "Yeah, great, bastard. I'm so relieved by that. That's – ugh, I can't even begin to say what that is. You're unbelievable! First you fuck me while I'm drunk and then you get a child, _my_ child, and you don't even think you should _perhaps_ tell me! God, you're the worst asshole I've ever met! Damn you and this fucking pet shop! Wish I'd never set foot in here!"

With that, he stormed out the door and slammed it shut behind him. D remained where he was, face deathly pale, eyes burning. He shouldn't be surprised by Leon's reaction. He wasn't. This was exactly why he'd never told the detective about his child, why he'd tried to escape from him all the time.

Still, that didn't stop the tears welling up in his eyes, nor did it make the lump in his throat go away. He had ruined everything. Now Leon would hate him for the rest of his life, and he would hate his child, too. The kami buried his face in his hands and unsuccessfully tried to calm down.

A small hand was laid upon his thigh. D looked up and straight into blue-golden eyes. "Bàbà?" Dana inquired, her little face expressing that she knew exactly something was wrong and wanted to soothe her father.

D wrapped his arms around the small body and drew his daughter close. Her little hands petted his hair clumsily. The kami knew he shouldn't, knew it would disturb the child unduly. But he couldn't help but press her to his body as close as possible and weep while he held her, seeking comfort in the existence of his child.


	14. Crisis Line

**Crisis Line**

Leon was walking aimlessly through Tokyo's streets. He didn't know where he was, but right now, he didn't care for anything. It had started to rain, and he had no jacket and was getting wet to his skin, but he found he couldn't muster the strength to think about getting someplace dry and warm. So he just walked on, until he found some kind of park with a little lake in the middle. There was a bridge leading right into the lake, and he walked it until the end and then sat down there, dangling his legs over the water and watching the raindrops create big circles on the surface. He searched for his cigarettes and lighter, but his mind wasn't in lighting it, and when the rain killed the fire for the fifth time, he gave up and slipped them back into his pocket.

He had a kid. He had a friggin' _kid_. Which meant he was a fucking _dad_, and he'd been one for almost two years. And D'd never told him. If he hadn't come to look for him in Japan, for once listening to those strange dreams he kept having since D had left (thanks to his first 'daughter'), then he'd never even known of Dana. Would never have known that he had a little daughter.

With D.

Which didn't make this any better, considering all.

God, how he yearned for someone to talk to. Someone who could tell him what to do now.

Thunder rolled above him. Leon looked up into the grey clouds and slowly stood, like a beaten man. He walked back to his hotel in the rain, wet to the skin, but unaware of anything other than the pain in his chest. He really had to talk to someone. And then he had to figure out what to do now.

* * *

Back at the hotel, he slipped out of the wet clothes. Then he sat down on the bed, naked, and wriggled the covers around him. His hand hovered over the phone, uncertain. Then he sighed and grasped the receiver. "Call to America, please," he said and waited for the sign. A few minutes later he heard Jill's sleepy voice.

"Who's there?"

Leon cleared his throat. "Hey, it's me."

He could nearly see Jill sitting up in her bed. "Leon?! What's the matter? Is everything alright?"

Her voice was concerned and he hastened to reassure her. "Cool down, Jill, I'm alright. It's just – well, I – I found D."

She brightened. "Leon! That's great! But why -" her voice faltered. "Something happened, right? You quarrelled, right? What about? Leon, tell me! Perhaps there's not all lost."

He wanted to be irritated at her for insinuating again that he and D could be a couple. But seeing the situation as it was, he couldn't say anything against it. Even if he wasn't going to – well, love him or anything like it, he couldn't deny that they'd at least had sex. Dana was living proof of that.

Leon threaded his hand through his hair, desperately seeking a start and not finding one. Jill's voice became meek at his silence. "Leon, what's the matter? What happened? Is the Count alright? He hasn't died – or has he?"

The blonde found his voice again. "No, Jill, he's alive. Don't worry about that. It's-" he took a deep breath. "It's complicated, Jill, and not easy to explain. But please, don't laugh. And – and don't say I'm crazy, because – because everything is true, even if it sounds like I'm crazy."

There was silence. Then: "Just tell, okay? I won't laugh. Just tell me."

Leon took another deep breath and plunged in headfirst. "Jill, I've got a kid. And D's the – mother. More or less. Fact is, we've got a kid. Together."

Another long silence. This phone call was going to be expensive. But he needed her advice too much to be thinking about the money.

"Well, okay. That's a little bit – surprising."

Before he could say anything else, Jill kept on talking. "But well, the Count's always been pretty girly, so I guess that's no real surprise that he's really a woman. Why was he pretending to be a man in the first place?"

"No, Jill, no. He's not –" Leon hesitated and then went on. "He's not exactly a woman. I mean, he's not exactly a man, either. He's – kind of both."

Silence.

"He's a hermaphrodite? Well, that for sure explains some things. But I thought those couldn't get children."

Leon decided not to explain any further. He was a little bit surprised that Jill took that so calmly, but well, she was the one reading a lot, so he guessed she might know more than he about that. It seemed as if she saw nothing strange in a human being… both. He'd be content she'd swallowed it so easily without asking any further questions, like if D was even human. He preferred her not to know that.

"Well, seems that they can. At least, D could. And he did. Her name's Dana."

"How old is she? Why didn't he tell you? How come you can't remember – getting him pregnant, I mean?"

That part was going to be more complicated. The blonde cleared his throat.

"I don't know. I guess… he was frightened of my reaction. You see, he met me one evening after Chris was gone and walked me back to my apartment. And then, somehow, can't explain how it happened, we – well, we did it. I don't remember any of it," he added hastily. "I was drunk. Seems only that I wasn't drunk enough, because I managed to get him pregnant."

"That's a quite big thing. He never told you? He never even said something about that night? I mean, I know he vanished soon after, but you kept visiting till the end. He really never said anything?"

"Nope. Guess he – I – well, I can get why he wouldn't say anything. I wasn't very friendly back then, I was pissed because he just let them take Chris away. And after… there was no time. And I wouldn't've believed him anyway."

They were silent for a moment. Leon sighed.

"As to why he didn't tell me about the kid, I don't know. Guess it was the same. And he said he only found out after he was already gone. He-"

He lost it again.

"Damn, Jill, I've got a _kid_! A kid! She's almost two years old and he never told me, just kept silent and kept on evading me and if I hadn't come here, I never would've known that she's there!"

The chief knew why he'd made them partners. Jill was world-class at soothing Leon.

"Hey, keep it cool. Just take a deep breath and then we'll talk, okay?"

"Fuck, Jill! I'm a damn fucking _father_ and I didn't know until today!" Leon hit his pillow and swore loudly because hitting a soft pillow just wasn't doing anything to lighten his mood up.

"And I'm sure the Count had reasons to act this way. They may not be good and I don't doubt that it was wrong of him not to tell you," she forestalled his protests. "But if he didn't think he could get pregnant, it was probably a pretty damn shock for him, too. Just keep it low, Leon. You don't know if he hadn't planned on telling you when she was older and he'd have the courage to do so. The better question is, what do you want to do now that you know of her?"

Leon was silent, due to surprise. Then he answered, sounding astonished as if there couldn't be one possible doubt as to what he had to do now.

"Well, I'm going to be her father, what else? Only problem is that D's living in Japan and I in the States. But perhaps he would move somewhere a little bit closer… or at least permit me to visit them as often as possible. I've still got to ask him if he wants any – financial support. I'm not sure he'll want that, but I've gotta ask anyway."

He couldn't hear the silent sigh of relief from Jill. Truth be told, his best friend was glad that he didn't seem to have any problem dealing with the fact that the child was there and his only concern was how to act now. But Leon had always adjusted quickly. He could take any situation and act upon it in the way he thought was right.

The big problem was not the child, but the hurt he felt at being betrayed for so long. Jill wasn't sure if the Count could ever make up for that. But at least Leon wouldn't take it out on the kid.

"Pretty fuck that my vacation's nearly over," Leon continued, oblivious to her thoughts. "I mean, I guess it'll take some time to sort this mess out, and I'd rather do it face-to-face than on the phone with D."

Jill cut in. "Don't worry about that, Leon. I'll tell the chief you're sick. You've plenty of sick days, and that's more important right now."

The blonde fiddled with the phone cord. "You're sure you wanna do that, Jill? I mean, I can probably manage to get some extra days off, I guess… if I explain to the chief…"

"It'll be easier this way. Where's the point in flying back to the States and begging the chief for two or three days extra leave when you can stay there? No, Leon, really, it's okay with me. You couldn't guess that, and if it comes to the worst, I'm better at explaining to the chief anyway."

He let out a deep sigh of relief. "Thanks, Jill, you're the best. Really, you are."

He could hear her smile through the phone. "No problem, Leon. Give your kid a hug from me, okay? And keep me informed."

"I will. Bye, Jill."

"Bye, Leon. And-" she hesitated, but then spoke. "Congratulations, anyway."

The blonde smiled a little bitterly. "Thanks, Jill. I don't know yet if it's really that good, but thanks."

After he'd hung up, he leaned back into his pillows and stared at the ceiling. Be Dana's dad. Fuck. He'd said he'd do it. And he wanted to do it, of course. He didn't want to be the same kind of father his own had been. But he didn't know anything about being a dad.

A deep sigh heaved his chest. Fuck. This was going to be real complicated.


	15. What now?

**What now?**

"Hello, Detective."

D's voice was small, almost as if he was afraid of what Leon would say in return. But the blonde just walked past him, not even deigning to answer, and sat down besides Dana in her corner. "Hey missy, look what I got you," he said to her. The child squealed with joy at the little plush penguin Leon was holding. D felt like he would choke any second.

The blonde spent a few minutes in the corner, talking to Dana and introducing her to 'Lucky', for he apparently thought penguins were animals that brought luck, for whatever reason. Only when she was content with her penguin and the cat Leon had bought her, and which didn't have a name yet, did he stand up again and walk over to the tea table. D poured him a cup with shaking fingers.

They sat there some moments in silence, sipping their tea, until Leon finally broke the silence. He sat down his cup and sighed deeply.

"So, D, what now?"

The kami tore his gaze from the dark surface of the table to glance at Leon questioningly. "What 'what now', Mr. Detective?" he asked with an almost fainting voice.

The blonde gestured around. "Man, c'mon. You've got to know what I mean. What shall we do now?"

D's face got confused, but Leon was too busy talking to notice. "I mean, I get that you had to leave the States because the FBI was on your track, and everything. And I even get that you – well, thought I wouldn't take the news very well. But now I know, and I'm asking you what you wanna do now."

He played with his hands, not looking up. "I mean, do you want any kind of – I don't know – support?" Glancing up quickly, he saw that D didn't comprehend and clarified what he meant. "I mean, do you want money? I know I can't do much to support you," he added unhappily, shoulders sagging. "I'm not earning that much. But I'll do what I can."

D's eyes were absolutely unreadable. "Detective, that night was entirely my own fault, and any results are mine to deal with. Do not concern yourself with them. I am perfectly able to support Dana myself."

If he'd thought that would let Leon ease a little bit, he'd been wrong. The blonde looked even more uncertain. "And – what about Japan?" he asked hesitatingly. D tried to make any sense of his words, but failed completely, as usual. Getting to know of his fatherhood certainly hadn't done anything to improve Leon's capacity to articulate himself.

But then the blonde continued and D nearly lost it right then and there.

"Because I really can't picture myself settling down in Tokyo and having a nice little family here with you and Dana and your pets." Desperately he threaded a hand through his hair and continued, not noticing that now D looked astonished and confused more than anything. "And I mean, I've got a job back in the States, and I actually _like_ my job, you know, and all my friends are there and my family and Chris and Jill… I – I just don't think I could move to Japan. Hell, I don't even speak one word of Japanese!"

He looked up at D, who regarded him with the strangest expression ever and cleared his throat. "Detective, there is absolutely no need for you to move to Japan. Why ever should you think of that?"

Leon shrugged. "Well, you're here," he said lamely and looked at Dana. "And Dana's here. I – should be somewhere near, don't you think so?"

D sat in his chair like a porcelain doll, hands clasped tightly in his lap, face blank. "As I've already told you, Detective, that night and that I conceived was entirely due to my being foolish and selfish. You don't have to concern yourself with any of the resulting problems."

It finally clicked. Leon's head shot up to stare at the kami. His brows drew together threateningly. "Don't tell me you're still doing it," he growled. D looked surprised.

"Doing what, Detective?"

"Keeping me out of everything." The growl was even lower this time, more threatening. "Don't tell me that you still think you can keep my kid from me."

"I am not keeping you from anything, Detective," D snapped back and looked like he was about to throw something at Leon's head. "Except from trouble. I was the one foolish enough to think this night would have no consequences, I was the one who took advantage of you, I am the one who is to be held responsible for everything. It's none of your business and surely nothing you must concern yourself with."

Leon gasped. And then he started to yell.

"You fucking idiot! You're havin' fun blaming yourself, fine, go on, do it all you want, I won't stop you! But keep it off Dana and me! You can't just sit there and expect me to go back home when my friggin' _kid_ is here! Do you think I've got no sense of honour in me or what?!"

Dana, startled from her game, started to cry. Shuko came out, cast a reproachful look at the men and snatched her little sister up at the back of her dress, drawing her into the other room. She also shushed Junrei back, who had stretched in her head curiously and was listening wide-eyed. Then the door closed and D and Leon were alone.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Detective!" D gave back with a quivering voice. If Leon had been able to listen, he'd have noticed the uncertainty in it, but he was too busy being angry. "I am just concerned for you and your life! Dana's existence is my fault and my responsibility. You've got nothing to do with it!"

If it was possible, Leon's face turned even redder at that and D realised he'd made another fatal mistake. "What do you mean, I've got nothing to do with her existence?! I fucking hell _fathered_ her! If she's such a pain-in-the-ass for you, then just give her to me and I'll take care of her, so that you don't have to be reminded of your fucking _fault_ all the time!"

All of D's uncertainty fell off at Leon's suggestion that he could take their daughter away. He quickly rose to his feet and stood face-to-face with the blonde. "Never! I'll never permit you to take my child away! You're not able to take care of a child as small as she is! Never!"

Leon had never been bodily aggressive. But hearing D talk like that – like he wasn't worth of being Dana's father – caused something in him to snap.

The next thing he knew was that his hand had met something delicate and smooth, and D's head was flung to the side. An angry red spot spoiled his pale face.

Leon stumbled back, clutching his hand with his other, as if to stop it from hitting D any further. The kami turned his head back towards him, touched his cheek slightly and stared wide-eyed at the detective, on whose face realisation and regret waged a war.

"So I'm not allowed to take your kid away from you, but you want to force me to leave mine?" he yelled. "Because I'm a human, or what? Because I'm not worth of being her father?!"

D's eyes were unreadable. He looked down, hiding his face behind the curtain of his hair. He was shaking all over. "I will consider your request, Detective. Please leave now."

"Consider my request?!" Leon grabbed him again by the high collar of his cheongsam. "_Consider my request_?! You really should consider it, 'cause I'm not just going to leave my kid, you can bet your two-gender ass on that!"

"LEAVE!"

D pushed him off with all his might. Superior strength showed its effect. Leon was thrown against the door so hard it slammed open. The human crashed onto the stairs leading down to the pet shop.

For a moment they just stared at each other, expressions funnily matching. The blonde picked himself up, brushed the dust off his jeans and sent D a last glance before he walked away.

The young kami watched his retreat. He didn't know if he should consider this a victory or the beginning of a long war.


	16. Journeys end in separating

**Journeys end in separating**

The door opened. D didn't even have to turn around to know that Leon had entered. He strode over to Dana without greeting him and presented her a little book, made especially for children.

D had to turn away. A present for Dana, but not for him. Never for him, now. Leon brought presents only for his daughter, all kinds of presents, even sweets sometimes. D didn't dare to object. He was too frightened of what Leon would say or do then. Afraid he might ruin the instable balance they'd installed after that fight.

But both he and Leon knew that they wouldn't have to hold it up much longer. The detective still had a job in the US, and he would have to return only too soon. Neither had brought up the subject of moving the shop back to where Leon would at least be able to see his daughter sometimes again. It seemed as if the blonde was taking his last chance at being a father he would have.

He busied himself with preparing tea while they played. When he was finally ready, he took a deep breath and called them. "Detective, Dana, tea's ready. Would you please come here?"

"C'mon, missy, your dad's got something to eat for you," Leon told his daughter and snatched her up in his arms. She laughed and pulled at his ponytail, causing a lopsided grin to appear on his face. "Careful, missy, that's my hair and I'd rather keep it."

He sat her down after swinging her through the air and she squealed with joy. "There ya go. Enjoy your meal, sweetie."

T-chan took his usual place besides Dana, ready to pick up every last bit of food she might drop. D smiled at the totetsu, but his eyes were empty. The only one who seemed to enjoy herself was the girl. She babbled and grabbed the spoon D had placed in front of her, clumsily shoving it into the apple puree. She managed to get half of it over her pretty dress, but it didn't faze her in the least. She just laughed some more.

D sighed and caught Leon staring at his daughter, completely enrapt by her sonny smile. His heart contracted painfully. Did the detective even notice that Dana's smile was his?

To distract himself, he took a towel and started to clean Dana's dress, scolding her gently in Chinese and taking the spoon away from her. She looked as if she was about to cry, but D quickly fed her a spoonful to distract her.

Only that Dana decided to close her lips so tightly that he only managed to get the contents of the spoon on her dress, too.

D stared at the spoon in hostile silence, as if it was responsible for this whole mess. He felt like throwing it at the wall, running out and locking himself in his chamber until this whole nightmare was over.

A strong hand appeared in his view and took the spoon from his fingers. His head jerked up to see Leon take the apple puree bowl, too. He didn't look at D when he spoke.

"Relax. I'm feeding her. You better get your sugar fix if you don't want to start yelling at her."

For her other father Dana opened her mouth willingly, even smiled a little. The kami suddenly lost his appetite. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Why couldn't Leon have left when he still had the chance to keep his blissful innocence?

Not to mention, let D keep his peace of mind.

He pushed away his dish. Since when did he have such a thing as 'peace of mind'? If he'd ever possessed this calmness, he for sure couldn't remember anymore. From his momentary point of view, his life had consisted of empty duties until he'd met Leon, only to be replaced by constant burning longing and fear at the same time, and then despair and pain, and sorrow with his child, for his child…

Dana had been satisfied, she climbed down from the sofa and went over to Pon-chan. D watched her go. He couldn't even muster the strength to be proud of his child. She had achieved much by now. She could talk, she could walk. She was a happy child, a lovable sunshine. She was like Leon, like Chris. Not like him. Dana had none of the character traits that characterized the D family. She was open, naïve, trustful. D didn't know if perhaps he'd once been like her. And neither did he know if he should hope that in the course of time she would loose those character traits.

The girl turned and came back to tug at Leon's hand. "Honlon!" she demanded, but the blonde shook his head.

"No, sweetie, not today. I've gotta talk to your daddy," he said quietly and slightly pushed her into the direction of the door. "Go and say hello for me, will ya? I'll join you later."

She complied and disappeared, followed as usual by raccoon and totetsu. D looked down into his lap. "What do you want to talk to me about, Detective?" he asked woodenly. Leon sighed.

"Listen, I know you don't want it. But I want to support Dana," he said decidedly. The kami continued to stare at his unmoving hands on bright purple silk.

"I have told you, there is no need to give me money. I will not hold that against you. You earn few enough. Keep your money for yourself and Chris. Spend it on the things you want to spend it on."

"My kid is something I want to spend my money on." Leon's voice was firm and determined. D pursed his lips.

"But perhaps I do not want you to spend your money on her," he said defiantly.

The blonde growled. "I think it's up to me to decide what I do with my money. And Dana's my child, too. You can't force me not to support her."

"No, but I can return each and every cent to you," D snapped and finally looked up at the human. "I do not want it. I do not need it. Dana does not need it either. She is happy as she is."

"She'll grow up and perhaps one day she might want to buy something for herself. She can use the money then." Leon tried to be reasonable, but D didn't feel like letting him be reasonable. He felt like screaming at him, throwing things at him, hurting him as good as possible. He knew how to press Leon's buttons, he'd done it long enough.

"She won't be able to buy much with the peanuts you can give her," he provoked.

Leon growled again. "At least it's not triad money she'll be spending, but good, honest money, not earned on the misfortune of others," he gave back. D raised an eyebrow sarcastically.

"Oh, so you don't think that the poor people you are catching are unhappy when they're imprisoned?"

"That's something else! They only get into prison when they did something wrong," Leon defended himself and D snorted disparagingly.

"Humans defined that what they did is wrong, when it is only natural to protect or to make sure one stays the stronger. Your high-praised evolution works that way, Detective. The weak cower, the strong thrive."

"You are truly unbelievable! How can you argue with Darwin when we're just talking about a child? _Our_ child?!"

D felt as if Leon had hit him again. A pain so strong he nearly fainted shot through his heart. "I am just reminding you of the differences between our species. For me it is perfectly natural, and it will be as natural for Dana, too." He smirked and took cruel pleasure at the look of helpless despair on Leon's face. The blonde slammed his fist on the small table.

"I'll tell you what, you arrogant inhuman false bitch-"

Pon-chan rushing in and shrieking at the top of her voice put a stop to their fight immediately. "Count! You've got to come! Dana's –" she coughed, having run so fast she nearly had no breath left. Both D and Leon shot up like a lightning.

"What? What is it?"

The kami nearly grabbed the little raccoon. She pointed to the back of the shop. "In your bedroom. On the big wardrobe. Quick!"

D's eyes widened in shock. He barely managed to put Pon-chan on the sofa before he broke into a full run, Leon at his heels. "What's it, D? Is it Dana? Has something happened to her?! D!"

He couldn't care about the fear in the blonde's voice. His own heart was beating so fast he felt it might jump out of his chest, and he tumbled into his bedroom, eyes searching for the child frightened.

Leon behind him gasped and nearly knocked him over when he rushed to the big cupboard in one corner of D's bedroom. He stumbled forward, snapped out of his frozen shock and went after the blonde, who was standing in front of the wardrobe, extending his arms upwards.

"Dana! Come on, come down from there! That's dangerous!"

The child was not impressed by her two freaked fathers below. She laughed and clapped her hands in joy, then decided to crawl towards the wall out of sight. The pets crowded around their feet started screeching loudly, telling Dana to come back, too. But she was stubborn, too, and she seemed to like being on the wardrobe very much. They heard her sing something with her little voice. Leon turned back to D, who had clasped his hands tightly over his mouth.

God, that guy was scared out of his mind.

Hesitatingly the blonde put a hand on D's shoulder. "Calm down, D, as long as she doesn't crawl to the edge, she's safe up there."

The kami's hands snapped away from his face and he looked like he was going to give Leon a black eye again. "Are you crazy?" he nearly screamed. "She's 20 months old! If she falls down from there, she's going to hurt herself! She might kill herself!"

Okay. D was worse than any mother Leon had ever met. God, if he'd known it would only take a little child to shake him up that badly, he'd have…

… okay, he'd not have gotten him pregnant long before. Very, very, _very_ bad thought, Leon. Stop it. Now.

Well, he was going to have to do something about that before D went crazy. And if he was honest, he wasn't too sure Dana wouldn't fall down into some crack between the wall and the wardrobe.

He surveyed the wood while D managed to pull himself together long enough to start calling the child with a quivering voice. T-chan looked at the blonde questioningly. He put a foot on a knob that stood out. "Gimme a hand, would you?" he snarled at the totetsu who bared his teeth, but obligingly stepped towards the wardrobe so that Leon could use his back to swing himself up.

D stopped calling Dana and watched with wide eyes. "Detective, what are you doing there?" he demanded. The blonde was concentrating on climbing and answered only half-heartedly.

"I'm getting your precious daughter back, what else? Stop talking and let me climb!"

"But – I could – do it myself!" D protested, angry he hadn't thought of it before and scolding himself silently. This was how badly Leon's appearance had shaken him up. Never before had he frozen in a critical situation. But once the detective was here, he seemed to loose his head at any given opportunity.

"Shut up, D, and just let me climb, okay?"

Leon had nearly reached the top now and was wondering how the child had even managed to climb up here. Shit, this thing was big! And Dana was not even two years old!

Then he remembered a Christmas evening long gone and sighed. Seemed as if she'd at least inherited her mother-father's ability to fly. Great. If so, this whole hassle was unnecessary.

But one look down into the Count's frightened eyes told him that D didn't seem to think so. And now he was up and could see Dana in one back corner, looking at him with bright eyes. He sighed deeply and felt strangely relieved.

"Ey, missy, it's not nice of you to frighten D that way," he told her and scuffled closer.

"Leon!" she laughed and extended her little arms. The blonde looked around.

"Yeah, you've found a nice little hiding-place here, really. But you should come down now, else you won't be getting any sweets for dinner. I swear." He raised his hand as if to swear. Dana seemed to consider. Then she said something in Chinese and went to Leon, snuggling to him and tugging at his bigger hand with her little fingers. He grinned. "Dana, really. If you wanna play, do it downstairs on the floor. D's gonna have a fit if you keep on climbing up here."

She didn't seem to be much concerned about her mother-father's nerves. Instead she kept on telling Leon something he didn't understand and got angry when he didn't react. She pulled at his hand impatiently and pointed into the corner she'd been sitting in. Sighing, Leon gave in and crawled over. From down below D called. "Detective, what are you doing up there? Where's Dana?"

"Calm down, D, I've got her safe!" he replied and looked hard, placing one arm around her waist so that at least his words were true. The girl didn't object, she leaned into him and yawned widely. "You're tired, eh? No wonder if you climbed up here. Flew. Whatever. When we come down again, you're off to bed, missy," he told her and used his other hand to feel around. There was something in there, felt like wood or something like that…

Pulling it out at last, he found Dana had discovered a red crayon on the wardrobe. She squealed in joy and snatched it from his hands. "Thank you Leon!"

The blonde grinned lopsidedly and ruffled her hair. "No problem, missy. You remember that, don't you? Well, I've gotta teach you more English if we wanna talk to each other. That's a crayon."

"Crayon," the child echoed and pecked her head to the side, examining it carefully. Leon took her into both arms and scooted towards the rim slowly.

"D? I'm going to hand her down to you. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I am, Detective. Whatever did you do up there?" The kami's voice sounded both impatient and worried. Leon shook his head and sighed again.

"God, your daddy's gotta relax sometimes," he whispered into Dana's ear. She stopped her examination and frowned, not understanding what he said.

"I heard that!" D called from below. The blonde hurried to reach the rim and carefully lowered the child down. She laughed when D took her into his arms, but the laugh quickly dissolved into tears as he began to scowl her angrily in Chinese.

Leon jumped down, too, and tried to protect her from the fatherly lecture. "D, c'mon, nothing happened! If she can fly the way you can, well, then you've gotta teach her to be careful where she flies to."

The kami turned blazing mismatched eyes at him and he winced. "Yes, of course I've got to do that, too, Detective! I've got to do everything! I've got to feed her, teach her, care for her, look after her, raise her, do everything for her!"

His voice was getting high-pitched and pissed. Leon glared. "Hey, that was not my decision! You were the one who ran away and didn't even tell me about the kid!"

Silence stretched, only disturbed by Dana's sobs. Leon extended his arms. "Hand her over, she's tired," he ordered curtly. Numbly D let him take the child and followed the blonde to the bed in the corner of his bedroom. Leon managed to calm her down faster than he'd ever been able to, and before he woke from his numbness, the girl was asleep in her cradle, pets protectively spread around her.

They both looked at the sleeping kid. Leon cleared his throat. "So… is that normal?" he asked, uncertainty in his voice. "I mean, I never thought about it. But is she any different to human kids? If she inherited the flying thing, what else did she get from you?" It was clear he wanted to avoid a particular discussion.

D considered for a moment, trying to pry his own thoughts loose of the guilt that had swept through him again. "I don't know. I am – mostly guessing what she is able to do, seeing as she's not yet able to express herself properly."

"Right." Leon scratched his head. "Kids learn to speak at the age of two, right? That's – normal, right?"

"I guess so," D answered carefully. "As far as I am able to estimate her development, she is completely normal. At least as normal as a child like her can be."

"Did you ever take her to a doctor or something like that?" Leon wasn't too sure about small kids, though he was pretty sure that every kid should get a regular check-up by a doctor.

But D just favoured him with a scornful look. "May I remind you that taking Dana to a doctor of any sorts might mean her doom? She is half human, but the other half of her being is me."

The blonde blushed and glared at D angrily. "You can't just let her grow up with guessing if everything's alright! You could just charm the doctor into not getting suspicious. I know you can do that, don't deny it!"

D scowled. "I could, yes, but I do prefer not to take any risks at all. Whatever you think of me, I care for Dana, very much. And I am as worried about her health and well-being as you are, perhaps even more, for I actually know the differences between our species. But a human doctor, who hasn't even heard of any being like I am will most assuredly not be able to help Dana anyway."

Leon had to give him that. But he still was worried. "You're sure everything's all right with her?"

D was getting exasperated with the human. He barely managed to refrain from rolling his eyes. "I told you, Detective. To me she seems perfectly normal. She's learning how to speak; she's learning to eat on her own; she's walking. The only difference I noticed so far is that she's a little bit stronger than two-year-old human children use to be."

"Well, that's not a big surprise," Leon commented, seemingly reassured. "She probably got that from you."

A small smile graced D's face. It felt like the first real smile for days. "But her eyes are yours," he said softly. "And her smile is yours, too."

They stared at each other for a moment, before D quickly averted his gaze and busied himself with plucking Dana's covers over the girl.

"I'm going to leave tomorrow."

Leon's voice echoed in the sudden stillness of the bedroom. D swallowed hard, not daring to look up. "You are?"

"Yeah. Promised Chris I'd visit them, too, and I've got no vacation days left. I'm already running on sick leave days at the moment. Perhaps I'll be able to spend two days with the kid, and then I've gotta go back to L.A. and start working again."

"Oh." D searched for words, but none would come forward. "When does your flight leave?" he finally managed, almost choking on them. Leon sighed softly.

"Tomorrow evening. I – thought I could just stop by and say goodbye before I leave."

It was a question, not a statement. D nodded hastily. "Yes. Of course. Honlon will be very happy." He was babbling, and he knew it. And Leon knew it, too. It was not Honlon he wanted to say goodbye to, it was Dana. His real child, not the dragon he had created by accident.

D almost smiled bitterly. Well, at least in that the sisters were no different. Leon hadn't intended to create either of them. He'd just slipped into this whole mess because of D. If not for the kami, he would be back in the States, working, or playing with Chris, or planning a nice evening with his girlfriend…

D's heart clenched painfully as he thought about that. He'd not asked Leon, and the blonde had not told him about any woman. But surely there was a woman in his life at the moment. He might not be able to hold them for long, but since D knew him, Leon had almost always had a girlfriend. He was a good-looking guy, friendly, honest and lovable despite his manners…

The combination had not only lured women into his arms, but also D. Perhaps if he'd been a woman, a real woman, things would've been different. Perhaps then they wouldn't be standing here in front of the cradle of their child not being able to look at each other, afraid they might do or say something wrong, but stand here hand in hand, happy that they had a baby together…

"I'll stop by around four. See ya."

"Goodbye, Detective," D choked out. He did not turn to watch Leon walk out. It would hurt too much. Instead he stared at the baby and tried to convince himself that at least a tiny piece of Leon would stay with him, even when the human was gone.


	17. Loss

Warning! This chapter contains violence and sexual threats. If you don't like that, don't read this!

**Loss**

D was itchy the whole next day. He could not concentrate properly on anything he did, and ended up leaving Dana to Honlon, Tetsu and Pon-chan, wandering the dark corridors of the pet shop, lost in dark memories and thoughts. He felt like a fish being caught in a net. No matter how much he tried to free himself, he just got himself in deeper. No matter in which direction he tried to escape, there was no way out.

Dana was laid to sleep by Tetsu. D watched from the door, not feeling able to do it himself. His child had called for him, more than once, but the pets had told her bàbà was busy. Bàbà. Why had he ever let himself be called bàbà by his baby? He had never called his own father bàbà. Neither had he ever called grandfather yéye. But after getting Dana, it had never occurred to him to insist on her calling him father.

The door was flung open and crashed into the wall with force. D flinched. He'd not felt the time move, lost in himself as he'd been, and now he stared at his visitor with wide, shocked eyes.

"What is it?" he demanded sharply. The young man bowed quickly.

"Count, please help me! The medicine you gave me worked, but Cassandra suddenly is ill again!" he cried and turned pleading eyes up at the unmoving kami.

"Did you give her too much?" he inquired coolly. The man, not much older than a boy yet, shook his head desperately.

"You told me I should be careful, and I was careful, I promise! But something must have happened, I don't know what! Please, come with me and save her! Please, Count!"

D cast a glance at the clock. It was nearly four o'clock. If he was tending to the pet, he might not have to watch Leon say goodbye to his children, might not have to watch him leave forever…

He grabbed his coat and went over to the young man, who looked incredibly relieved. "Tetsu, Pon-chan, care for the shop. Open if the detective comes," he ordered curtly and stepped out into the gloomy afternoon, ignoring the sudden sinking feeling in his stomach deliberately.

* * *

The cat had not been really ill. It had been a matter of seconds. He couldn't even explain why the youth hadn't seen it himself, he was not dumb. He could only explain with the fear of having done something wrong.

D hurried back to his shop as fast as he could. His feeling told him that it was slightly after four, but it also told him that something was not right. If he was true to his word, Leon should be at the pet shop by now, taking his goodbyes. He had to be there. The detective was not always punctual, but surely something so important would cause him to do so, would it not?

He could already see the pet shop from here, but his disquiet only increased and he went even faster. The moment he stepped onto the stairs leading down to the pet shop he knew, _knew _with every fibre in his body that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. He didn't even need to see that the door was slightly ajar to know his feeling from before had been right.

He flew down the stairs and ripped the door open completely. Then he froze in it, staring at the mess that had once been his pet shop. The furniture was turned over, glass and ceramic shards showed where the teacart had been thrown to. There was blood, both human and animal. And Pon-chan was lying in the middle of the room, carefully placed on a cushion. Tetsu was nowhere in sight, nor was one of the other pets who usually crowded the front room.

Cold fear gripped his heart. D stumbled inside and knelt down beside the raccoon. "Pon-chan! Pon-chan, wake up!"

He eyes fluttered and slowly opened. The kami laid a quivering hand on her head. "What happened?" he choked out. The little thing moved uncertainly, clearly still half unconscious.

"Count," she whispered, trying to focus on him. "You're back. We couldn't – we tried to, but – Dana…"

D barely refrained from grabbing his favourite pet. "What about Dana?!" he cried out, heart stumbling in his chest. She wriggled to complete consciousness.

"Taizu was here, Count. He tried to take Dana away, but we fought him. We fought him so hard, and we made him leave, but Dana –"

She looked up at her frozen master with pleading eyes. D's lips moved without making a sound, and his face was chalk-white. "I'm so sorry, Count! She must've slipped out during the fight. She was so frightened, and I tried to get her to Honlon, but she wouldn't move, and then Taizu came my way and I tried to protect her, and no one noticed, and then she was just gone…"

D's heart stopped. His child was gone. He had failed in protecting Dana. Now she was – gods only knew where she was. And she was small, a baby, a stranger in the human world…

His mind raced. Leon. What to tell Leon? How could he – he had treated the detective so badly, had told him to keep out of Dana's life, and now he was the one to blame, he had brought Dana into danger, into death…

A big hand suddenly put weight on his shoulder. "D, what for god's sake has happened here?!" Leon exclaimed and looked around in horror. The kami turned his face up to his voice mechanically. The blonde stared into it, getting a sinking feeling in his stomach. D's eyes were unusually bright, almost feverish, the rest completely blank. Dead.

"She's dead," he said and a hysterical giggle left his mouth. "She's dead."

Leon suddenly felt like vomiting. Everything inside of him screamed at the words, so loud he nearly didn't hear the raccoon screeching in horror. "No, Count, don't even think that! She is not dead, surely not! We will find her, I promise! T-chan and the others, everybody's out there looking for her! She's not dead!"

The kami didn't even seem to hear her. He repeated the words like a mantra, over and over, as if not able to say anything else without being able to realise what he was saying.

Leon was a cop. He knew shock when he saw it, and there could be no possible doubt that D was in shock at the moment. He'd never seen him so out of his mind. He couldn't blame him, though. His own heart was beating an uneven rhythm in his chest, and he was cold, though his hands were sweating. But no point in loosing his head, too.

So he let D be for the time being, turned to Pon-chan and coaxed the whole story out of the raccoon again, trying to listen though his blood was making a lot of noise in his ears, rushing through his body in a buzz, carrying adrenaline everywhere. He forced the fear down, forced his head to cool, shoved aside the thought of his kid out there – barely a kid, more a baby still, small, helpless, frightened probably – and put his concentration back to the task of finding her.

"We need to get to that Taizu guy. Perhaps he knows something. Perhaps he met her on his way out," he said curtly and shook D ungentle. "Wake up, we've gotta go find Dana."

"She's dead," D whispered. Leon hit him, hard, twice. Until two red spots burned on D's ashen cheeks and he stared at the blonde with wide mismatched eyes.

"She's not dead, D!" the detective spat grimly. "Get your ass going so that it won't happen. Get up, come on. I bet you know where this Taizu lives, and we're going there right now. Pon-chan, stay here and wait if perhaps one of the others finds her."

The raccoon nodded, watching him wide-eyed, too, as he dragged the still slack kami out the door and back into the dark day. "Come on, it's not like you to give up before even trying!" he growled and almost pushed D against a wall. "What's the matter with you?! This is about your child!"

The kami stared at him as if he was a dream. Then he shook his head, slowly, uncertainly. "You sure are very convinced there still is a chance she might be alive," he said very softly. Leon had to lean to him to understand the words. He narrowed his eyes.

"I'm a cop, D. Just because a kid gets lost doesn't mean it's going to die. She's missing since one hour. How far can she have come in this time?"

D didn't answer. Leon pulled him away from the wall and directed him back onto the street. "And now tell me where this Taizu guy lives. Why didn't you tell me about him, anyway, if he comes around so often and threatened you?"

The shadow of the old, superior smile appeared on D's lips. "Detective, Taizu is merely a human, and not a very clever one. All he can do is threaten me, nothing more. I am perfectly able to handle such threats, and he has not shown up during the last weeks. I thought he had given up at last."

"For all that you're alive since a long time and claim to know us humans better than we do, you're pretty naïve sometimes," Leon growled. "Even a dumbass can be a threat if he's underestimated, and those guys may not be clever, but all the more willing to get aggressive. He probably stayed away because he was up to something."

D bent his head and stared at the pavement beneath his feet. The blonde was right. He had not given Taizu much thought in these last weeks, being occupied with his personal matters much more. Now he realised that had been a mistake. He swallowed. Perhaps this foolish mistake was going to cost him everything he loved best now.

"He lives on his premises in Chinatown," he said hastily to distract his thoughts from Dana. "We will be there shortly, but they won't let you in."

Leon tossed his head back defiantly. "Yeah, so what? There're other ways to get inside than the official one," he said. "You go ahead and distract the guys at the front door and we'll meet inside."

D was about to protest, but they already were within visibility range of Taizu's house. He gulped down his protest and continued to stride to the gate while Leon vanished into the crowds on the streets. D had to give him credit for that at least. He might be European, but somehow he still managed to blend into the crowd.

Then he was standing in front of the gate and looking around for the gate keeper. He didn't have to wait for long. After all, everybody knew about Taizu's unfortunate crush on the Count. It had been cause for much gossip in Tokyo's Chinatown, almost as much as the Count himself.

Bowing deeply, the old man hurried towards D, who placed his mask on his face and smiled politely. His heart was beating fast, and he knew he now had to act better than ever before in his life. He bowed. "Good evening, Cheng-san. Might I ask for the pleasure of speaking with your master?" he asked sweetly.

The gate keeper beamed. "The master is present, Count D. If you would just wait for a moment, I will notify him of your arrival," he answered.

"Yes, of course." D stepped closer to the gate and looked around innocuously. Where would Leon try to come in? The wall was high, and there were cameras everywhere…

Then he noticed a smaller door in the wall, half hidden behind some bushes. The gate keeper finished talking to the house and came out to let him in and lead him there. D followed close, but stopped passing the door. "Cheng-san, where does this door lead to?" he asked lightly, as if just being curious.

The old man turned and answered. "It leads to one of the side alleys, Count. But it's been locked for years. The master does not want anyone to stroll around on his premises."

D smiled coolly. "Very circumspect of his highness," he murmured and noticed the handle was moving slightly. His smile became cruel. "Cheng-san, why don't you go back to the gate? I will find the way on my own."

"No, Count, I cannot! The master told me to bring you right to him! He is waiting for you in his study on the other side of the house," the man protested. The door opened with a creak and he turned around surprised to face Leon. But before he could cry out, D had his hands around his throat and was looking him straight in the eye. Gold and violet swirled, creating a vortex in which the poor man got lost immediately.

"Forget," the Count whispered into his ear sweetly. "Forget that you saw him. Forget that you let me in. Forget."

The man's eyes turned upwards and he collapsed on the lawn. D let go of him with a cruel smile. "I didn't know you were such a skilled burglar, Detective," he said lightly. Leon stared at the unconscious gate keeper and cleared his throat.

"Cop's gotta know what the bad guys can do," he murmured. "Remind me not to look you in the eyes ever again."

A strange, searing pain shot through D's chest, but he quickly resumed walking towards the direction the man had given him. "I assure you, Detective, I do not intend to make you forget. It only works with minor events anyway. Everything you hold dear will remain untouched by the spell."

_And if you hold your memories of L.A. as dear as I do, neither I nor anyone else would be able to make you forget._

They quickly crossed the front garden and walked around the house, careful to stay in the shadows of the trees. For all that this was Tokyo and Chinatown, Taizu's family had sure managed to keep their premises like a park. Though probably not because they liked nature so much, more as a protection from too curious neighbours.

But now it came to them at the right time. They crept around the last corner and found themselves in front of a glass front, light streaming out into the garden from the many lamps burning in there. D stopped Leon. "Let me go in first," he said. "Taizu will get suspicious if I bring someone else. I will leave the door open for you."

Then he straightened and walked towards the French door with a careless air, even moving his hips a little. He felt greedy eyes on him, following his every move, and plastered a charming smile on his face while he trembled with fury. Taizu was going to pay today, and no one was going to stop D. He was going to take revenge for his daughter, even if she was still alive.

"Count." The oily voice oozed with triumph and badly hidden lust. D suppressed a disgusted shudder.

"Taizu," he greeted the man and bowed, trying to ignore the fact that he was only wearing a silken bathrobe. Bile crept up in his throat. If the human race produced loveable beings like Leon and Chris, it surely had more talent creating the depraved and despicable ones like Taizu.

"Come in, my dear Count, and take a seat. Would you care for some tea? Or something more – enjoyable?"

The smile felt like a grimace. "Thank you, Taizu, but I do not drink, as you know," D gritted through his teeth and stepped inside, carefully making sure the door only looked closed. The knowledge that Leon was there backing him up and that he was doing this for their child kept him inside. Otherwise the lecherous look Taizu gave him would have sent him running at once.

He placed a cup beside the kami and grabbed his arm, forcing the smaller one to face him. "So, Count, have you at last realised it's no use trying to evade me?" he hissed. His breath was thick with alcohol and D nearly choked. He made no move to get away, just stood still and stared at his enemy. Taizu's other hand started to caress his side. Even through the silk D resented the very touch, but he could not move. Not yet.

"You will bow to my will as everyone else does, Count," Taizu whispered into his ear and pressed his body closer. "You will do what I want at last, and do you know why? Because next time I visit your pet shop, your little daughter might die instead of just being frightened a little."

"You have not kidnapped her," D said silently and Taizu laughed, a nasty sound.

"I would have, but your little pets hid her too good. They have damn sharp teeth, Count, do you know that? And you are going to pay for each bite and scratch they gave me."

D closed his eyes in pain. "She is not here?" he whispered. Taizu stopped stroking him.

"I have not taken her with me."

The kami opened his eyes again. "And you did not see her when you left the shop again?"

Taizu let go of him and looked at him in astonishment. Then a nasty grin spread over his face. "Oh, did someone else come and take your little kiddy?" he cooed falsely. "My, Count, what a tragedy! To think the child of your one true love was stolen…"

"D, has he spilled the beans?" a cold voice interrupted the man. He spun around to face Leon, standing right behind him and looming over him, even though Taizu was not small himself. He sputtered in shock.

"Who is that?! I did not allow you to bring someone else!"

"I do not care for what you allow me to do or not," D said coolly and stepped to Leon's side who kept his blue eyes firmly on the other man. "Yes, Detective, he has told me enough. Dana is not here and he doesn't know where she is. Let us go."

Taizu recovered from his surprise. His gaze flew between kami and human. He smirked. "Oh, I see. Daddy has arrived and his little baby wasn't there. What a shame, Count. And he is such a good-looking boy! Tell me, what was it like fucking him? Did you like it, being taken and soiled by an American, yes?"

D's eyes blazed and he opened his mouth to reply, but Leon was faster. He took one quick step and hit Taizu right in the face. He was spun around by the force and landed on his table, sputtering and cursing. "You little bastard sure aren't going to know," Leon growled. Taizu turned his head and smirked at D, blood running from his nose.

"He is very forceful, your American boy. Tell me, was it that you liked about him? I could be much more forceful if you want me to be." He laughed nastily. "Oh, don't care for the 'if you want me to'. I will be anyway. I will get you pregnant again, and you will give birth to an heir to my house. Not a weak girl, but a strong son. "

The kami moved like a blaze, before Leon even noticed he had moved. Taizu was flung against the wall, and when he glided down, D was right there again, pressing his arm against his throat and holding him up. "You are the scum of the earth!" he hissed. "I would rather kill myself than allow you to ever touch me again, and be assured, if anything happened to my child, I will kill you, worse than your worst nightmare. You do not have the right to belong to the same species as the father of my child!"

For the first time since D knew him, Taizu looked frightened. Truly frightened. He tried to speak, but no words came forward.

Then the kami felt a hand on his shoulder pulling him back. "Whoa, D, make slow. Don't kill'm, he's not worth the trouble with the police. C'mon, let's go look for Dana instead," Leon urged and pulled him away. Reluctantly D let go. He wished nothing better than to slit Taizu's throat right now.

"You will pay!" he hissed at the man slipping to the floor and gasping. "You will pay, Taizu!"

"D. Dana needs us. Let's not waste time here."

Leon's voice was calm and soothing. Slowly the red haze in front of D's eyes cleared and he looked at the blonde, who was in turn regarding him with a strange look in his eyes. He blushed. "He is despicable," he defended himself. Leon's blue eyes scrutinized his face.

"I know. But not worth the trouble bothering with him when we have better things to do, like search Dana. You can take revenge later. Send him one of your pets. I bet Tetsu will be more'n happy to rip him into tiny little pieces."

He dragged D outside and they left the garden as quickly as they could through the door Leon had opened. They went back to the pet shop in silence, collected all the animals D trusted not to wreak havoc when alone in the human world and started to search the alleys and streets around the pet shop. But it was no use. Dana was gone and stayed gone. Not even the dogs managed to find her scent again. Every time one of them returned to tell them he'd failed, Leon saw D's eyes break more. It made him ever more determined to find the child.

"Perhaps we should try something else," he suggested after the last dog had returned. D slowly looked up at him, mismatched eyes empty and hopeless.

"What else should we try? It is no use. She is gone," he whispered. Leon shrugged.

"Well, we've only searched as far as we estimated she might come. But we didn't take into consideration that she isn't a usual kid. She could have come farther than we thought if she flew."

D's eyes lit up a little bit, and the hint of a smile appeared on his face. "You are right, Detective," he said and stood again. "And I know who we can ask for help."

* * *

An hour later the people of Tokyo were graced with a sight they would never forget in their lives. Clouds of birds of every size and colour gathered in the sky above the city, twittering and screeching so loud that they even drowned the sound of the traffic. The humans stopped, gathered, too, pointed to the sky and talked excitedly. Some were afraid, most just impressed. But none knew how to interpret this strange sign.

The birds didn't care about the reactions of the humans. Once they'd agreed on a plan, they spread out again and started searching the city carefully. More than one citizen was greeted by the sight of birds in his rooms when he stepped inside to search the source of the noise. Women screamed and men cursed. The children were mostly delighted, especially when the birds put on a little show for them before continuing their search.

From the rooftop of the pet shop, D watched them swarm out with burning eyes. Leon appeared in the little courtyard and looked up at him, shielding his eyes with his hand. "D?" he called. The kami turned and fixed his gaze on him. The blonde hesitated. "D, we're gonna find her. Don't worry," he said.

The determination in his voice calmed the kami down a little bit. He even managed a small smile. "Yes, Detective, we are," he whispered and tried not to think of what would happen if they didn't.

* * *

The next few hours went by in a blur. At first Leon had suggested that they search for Dana together, but then had given in when D reminded him that he employed other techniques than humans could. So they went alone, Leon accompanied by T-chan and Pon-chan, while D jumped over the roofs of Tokyo alone. At the moment, he couldn't bear any of his pets near him.

It got dark and late. D was still outside, looking, searching, listening intently for any sound that might be Dana crying or calling for him. More than once he hurried to a house, only to find the child crying there was not his. He had stopped hoping and just continued because he knew Leon was convinced they would find his child again. He felt like he owed it the blonde to continue searching.

The rain made the rooftops slippery and dangerous. More than once D nearly fell, but he didn't care. Perhaps it would be for the best if he died. He had ruined everything, right from the beginning. He could never make up for any of it, and if Dana was dead now, there was no sense in living anyway.

He stopped on a roof and looked out onto the ocean. The clouds were whirling rapidly. The storm was coming closer. D knew he couldn't stay on the roofs during the storm. Beaten and hopeless, he turned and made his way back to the shop, only praying that he wouldn't have to face Leon right away.

* * *

The street was dark, and it had started to rain heavily. Dustbins and cartons had been deposited here and forgotten. Leon wiped his wet blonde hair out of his eyes and took a few steps into the darkness. Someone was sniffling in there, he could hear it. He almost didn't dare hope – he'd been badly disappointed today more times than he'd ever thought possible. But there was this little spark of hope in him that just wouldn't give up, no matter what. He was a detective, after all. He knew how long a search could take, and that missing persons turned up even when they'd already given up hope.

"Dana? You're here?" he called out into the darkness. The sniffling stopped, and the next thing he knew was that a small, wet, dirty kid had thrown itself at his legs, hanging onto them, crying "Leon!" in an exhausted, desperate voice.

"Oh god, Dana! Baby, sweetie, where've you been?! Good heavens, you're soaking wet!"

He knelt down in a rush and crushed his daughter to his chest. She was crying loudly now, and clinging to him with all her strength. Leon almost winced. D was right. No human two-year-old could be this strong. But it was just as well. If she hadn't been this strong, perhaps she wouldn't be alive now.

"C'mon, let's get you home, darling," he whispered and stood up. "Your daddy's crazy with fear. Thank god you're alright!"

He almost ran back to the pet shop, panting with the effort of getting there as quickly as possible and carrying the child. But the reward he got when he broke through the door was worth the pain in his chest. D was sitting on the sofa, head buried in his hands. At the sound of the opening door his head snapped up and his eyes went wider than Leon had ever seen them. He was with them in the blink of an eye and threw his arms around both Leon and their daughter, burying his head in the blonde's shoulder.

"Dana!"

And then he started to cry.

Leon felt – strange. D embraced both him and the child, and he was every bit as strong as Leon himself, even stronger. He had them in his grip vicelike, and it didn't seem like he would let them go anytime soon. Dana, frightened by her father's outburst, started to sob again.

Gently Leon tried to wriggle out of D's arms. "D, she's alright," he soothed and loosened the grip around his shoulders. "She's soaking wet, must've been out in the rain for hours. Let's get her into a hot bath and her bed before she gets ill."

The claws in his back went away and Leon breathed a silent sigh of relief. He was going to have bruises tomorrow.

D quickly wiped his eyes and turned to the door. "You are right, Detective. Please follow me," he said. His voice betrayed his outer calm. It was hoarse and quivered a little. Dana's tears still flowed, but she was exhausted more than anything.

"Ssh, darling, it's okay," the blonde murmured and went after D. "Now you're going to get a hot bath and then you're gonna sleep for some hours and forget that adventure."

He wasn't at all surprised that they found a hot tub waiting in D's bathroom. The kami took his daughter from him and stripped her off her wet clothes, wrinkling his nose because of the smell of them. Leon sat down on the toilet and shrugged. "Found her in some dark street between dustbins and cartons. Seems she's been hiding in there. Clever girl."

Dana's eyes were falling close and he quickly put out a hand to steady the kid while D busied himself with her trousers, not looking up. "Please, Detective, would you bring her pyjamas in?" he asked. Leon did as he was told and returned in time to see D lowering the child into the hot water. She wouldn't let go off his hand, and was getting his silken sleeve wet, but either D didn't care or he didn't notice. Leon guessed it was the first.

The pets had trailed in after them and were spreading around the tub, whispering and looking relieved. Dana opened her eyes enough to see Leon sitting by her other side and extended her other arm to him, mumbling something he supposed was his name. He gently took the small hand and soothed her. "Don't worry, sweetie, I'm not going anywhere. You go to sleep, I'll still be here when you wake, promise."

D sent him a glance, but Leon kept his eyes stubbornly on the child. She closed her eyes again, reassured, and went to sleep in an instant.

"Would you help me wash her hair, Detective, please?" D's voice sounded strained, and so old. Like he had aged a century in the past few hours. Leon couldn't blame him. He felt just the same.

They cleaned and dried their daughter in silence, and then put her into bed. Dana slept through it all, not even stirring. D tucked the covers tightly around her and then he placed his hands on the rim of the cradle. His knuckles were white and Leon knew he was grabbing the wood so tightly it might break under the pressure.

He startled when D spoke, in a soft, quiet voice. "How can I ever thank you, Detective?" he asked, silently. The blonde shrugged and threaded his hand trough his hair, discovering that he himself was still wet. He hadn't thought about that.

"You're welcome. Couldn't leave her out there, now, could I?"

The kami's voice quivered. "No, Detective, it's not that easy. I – I have misjudged and wronged you in every possible way. I have withheld your child from you and I endangered her carelessly. Without your help, she might have died due to my deficiency. Please tell me what I can do to right that wrong."

He turned mismatched eyes to Leon, and he noticed to his discomfort that there were tears hanging on those long lashes. Uncomfortably he looked away. Now he had his chance to demand that D and Dana move to the States. But he couldn't bring himself to take advantage of D's guilt and exhaustion.

"I could do with a hot bath myself," he murmured instead and turned to the door. "I'll try to be here before Dana wakes. Night, D."

He was gone before D had recovered enough to answer.

* * *

Dana moved in her sleep, murmuring little indecipherable words. D shot to his feet and quickly walked over to her bed, but she was smiling and sleeping peacefully. Slowly he withdrew again, not wanting to disturb her, and returned to his dressing table. His fingers took up fiddling idly with the silver chain again while he stared into the violet eyes of the silver cat.

There was so much more to think about than the detective thought. How to explain that they had a child together, for example. And that would be relatively easy when he thought about the other things. Like how he had managed to escape from the FBI, or how Officer Howell had died, or how came that he and his father shared the same fingerprints. They weren't going to let him off the hook just because he now had a child with a police officer. And D was afraid. He was simply afraid that some dedicated police officer would find something and sent him to prison, or worse, to the scientists. What would become of Dana if he was captured? They weren't going to let her be, not when she was his child as well as a human's.

His head was already swimming with both the lack of sleep and sugar, but D hadn't been able to eat since Dana had vanished, much less sleep. His thoughts kept him awake and dispelled the hunger. It reminded him of the months he had been with his child, this strange feeling in his stomach, not quite sick, but promising trouble if he tried to eat all the same.

A small smile appeared on his lips when he remembered those months. They had been awful, but compared to now, they seemed like heaven. Back then he'd at least known what he had to do. He'd known that he had to give birth to the child and care for it. He had never foreseen that any of this would happen.

T-chan snuggled his way into his lap and snapped the Count out of his reverie. "What're you gonna do?" he asked and looked up at him. The kami sighed.

"What do you propose, T-chan? What do you think I should do now?"

"He hasn't asked you to move to America again," the totetsu pointed out and made his master cringe.

"Yes, he hasn't. But you know that he wants me to. And I can't. I simply cannot," he answered silently. The tiger-goat wriggled into a more comfortable position.

"Why? Is it because of him or because of the other humans?" he asked and grinned. "You know we can take care of anyone who threatens you or Dana. You just have to say the word."

D scolded him softly. "T-chan, don't you think it would be very suspicious if everyone who said one word about Dana and me suddenly vanished and turned up dead again? Even if Leon stops blaming me for every death in Los Angeles, he's not dumb, and he probably wouldn't thank me if I did that."

"Who cares for what that idiot thinks?" T-chan said uncouthly and grinned up at his master's wrinkled brow. "Ey, Count, just joking. Don't worry, we won't eat anyone if you don't say so. But still, what do you want to do now?"

The kami sighed deeply. "I don't know, T-chan," he answered softly. His fingers stopped playing with the silver cat and he looked into her mysterious eyes. "I honestly don't know."


	18. Goodbyes

**Goodbyes**

"She's okay again?"

The silent voice startled D, and he spun around, pressing a hand to his rapidly beating heart. "Detective!" he gasped. "When have you come in?"

Leon shrugged and set his duffel down. "Just arrived. Wanted to say goodbye. Is Dana okay?"

D forced himself to nod. "She is in Honlon's room," he answered. "I just came to the front to make some tea and then I wanted to return to them…"

His voice trailed off while he silently berated himself for babbling. That surely was nothing the blonde wanted to know. "Dana woke and was quite happy, in fact. I do not think she will have any trauma from yesterday," he added, feeling like he had to calm Leon.

He nodded absentmindedly. "Can I – can I say goodbye?" he asked quietly.

D had to swallow hard. "Of course. Please, go ahead, I will be with you in a minute," he choked out. "I just have to wait until the tea is ready…"

Leon cut him off. "Don't want to stay for long. My flight leaves in three hours and I've still got to get to the airport." He placed his duffel on the floor and strode to the crystal palace. D's hand flew to his throat. He choked.

"Are you not going to do something? Count!" Pon-chan exclaimed incredulously. "You can't just let him leave!"

"Shut up, Pon!" Tetsu hissed and clasped a hand over her mouth, sending a worried glance at his master. The Count looked like fainting any second. T-chan felt bitter regret. If the pets hadn't been so unhappy about Leon, he more than any other, perhaps the Count would not have left America. Especially after that evening. If they'd been more accepting of his love, told him to tell Leon the truth, perhaps things would've been different from the beginning.

But it was too late now to change anything. The totetsu didn't know if there was still a chance for this to work out. He only knew he desperately hoped there was.

Before D could even take as much as a step to Honlon's room, the detective was back, carrying Dana in his arms. He heard Junrei crying somewhere in the back and Shuko trying to soothe her sister. "Here," the blonde said gruffly and placed the kid in D's arms. He was so surprised that he nearly dropped her, but Leon kept a firm hold until he had her safely on his hip.

"Take good care of the little missy, will ya?" Leon didn't look at either of them while he was talking, instead his gaze rambled through the room aimlessly and landed on the totetsu. "You too, you freaking beast."

D's throat worked, but no words came from it. T-chan cast a glance at his master and answered for him. "Of course we will! We aren't that silly, you know!" He acted insulted, but for a moment, a split second, their eyes met, Tetsu's filled with regret and grudging acceptance, Leon's with sadness and respect. "Say hi to Chris."

"I will. From you too, D?" Now his blue eyes grazed the Count's motionless form.

The kami found his voice again. "Yes, please, Detective," he said faintly. The blonde nodded shortly, turned and started to walk out. Dana, not understanding what was going on, but feeling it was something bad, started to cry. D wanted to call out, but his throat was corded up. His arms lost their strength, and he quickly set the girl down before he really could drop her. She ran to Leon and wrapped her arms around his leg, turning a tear-streaked face up to him.

"Leon, play!" she demanded. The blonde sighed, bent down and hugged her tightly.

"No, Dana, not this time. I've gotta go. Watch out for your daddy, will ya? He needs you," he whispered to her and straightened to finally look at D. The kami felt like being engrossed in an unreal dream. Leon stood in the door, looking like he really didn't want to leave. Dana was holding on to his leg, gazing up at him with wide eyes. That strange searing pain went through D's heart again. He knew it wasn't right to let the human go this way. To make him leave his child. He might not love D, but at least he loved his daughter.

In this brief moment D made a decision. His strength returned. He took a step forward and scooped the girl up into his arms again. "Dana, let the detective go," he told her silently. "He has to arrive at the airport in time." She turned blue begging eyes to him, but D spoke the next words in Leon's direction.

"We don't want him to loose his job in America, now, do we? He'll have to feed us over there, at least sometimes. And he's going to have to buy you presents, too. He won't be able to do that if he looses his job."

Of course Dana didn't yet really understand what he was saying. But Leon did. He cleared his throat, but his voice was still raw when he spoke.

"Thanks, D. Thank you."

The kami smiled at him, a shy unsure little smile. "It would be most inconsiderate of me not to let Dana see the father she's come to like so much. Have a good flight home, Detective."

Leon returned the smile, as shy as he. Then he leaned forward and kissed Dana on the forehead. "See ya, missy," he said and looked at D. Reached for him, with one hand, and gently brushed his cheek. "See ya, D. Don't take too long."

"We won't, Detective. Goodbye."

Dana waved at Leon until he was out of sight. Then D stepped down the stairs and returned to the shop with her.

"T-chan, Pon-chan, pack up. We're leaving," he ordered. They smiled as if they'd only waited for him to say it. D sat down in his chair and hugged his daughter. "We're going to make a long journey, Dana," he told her and smiled. "We're going to America to live with your father."

Warmth filled his chest. Yes. They were going home to live with Leon.

- End -

* * *

A/N: I'd like to thank some people again, mostly my best friend, who betaed this one, too, at my request in the middle of the night. I know I can be unbearable... thanks for tolerating me even then.

Then thanks to everyone who wrote a review. To know that my hours are spent to entertain you is pleasing, but to be told that you're entertained, and well, means a lot to me.

And of course, thanks to everyone who read this, too. I don't know who you are - but if you liked it, that's enough.

So. -phew- That's it. Anyone's interested in a sequel?

3


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